New Survey: 47 Percent Listen To OnLine Radio

Online radio is making big gains in audience share, with Pandora leading the way, according to the latest figures from Edison Research and Triton Digital, published in the annual “Infinite Dial” report, based on a national survey of 2,023 people conducted in February.



Eris Sass at Media News is reporting, 47% of all Americans ages 12 and older -- an estimated 124 million people -- said they have listened to online radio in the last month, while 36% (94 million people) have listened in the last week. These figures are up from 45% and 33%, respectively, in 2013. The average amount of time spent listening increased from 11 hours, 56 minutes per week in 2013 to 13 hours 19 minutes in 2014.

As might be expected, usage numbers are much higher for teens and younger adults, with 75% of Americans ages 12-24 listening to online radio in the last month, compared to 50% of Americans ages 25-54 and 21% of Americans 55+. The weekly figures for the same age groups were 64%, 37% and 13%, respectively.

Of special note for advertisers: 75% of respondents who listen to online radio on a weekly basis said commercials are a fair price to pay for free programming -- roughly comparable to 80% for weekly AM/FM listeners. In fact, online audio ads were viewed as less annoying than broadcast counterparts, with 47% saying AM/FM radio ads are more intrusive, versus 30% for Internet audio ads.

Turning to specific platforms, 31% listened to Pandora in the last month, and 22% in the last week. For Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio, the monthly and weekly figures are 9% and 5%, respectively. Apple’s new iTunes Radio, launched in the second half of 2013, is off to a good start with 8% of Americans age 12 and up listening in the last month, while Spotify garnered 6%.

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Among other findings:

• More than six in ten (61%) now own a smartphone; that number increases to approximately eight in ten age 18-34.
• Internet-only audio services continue to grow, led by Pandora — now consumed by 31% monthly. iTunes Radio debuts in The Infinite Dial with 8% monthly usage.
• Growth in the adoption of the social media platforms Facebook and Twitter has slowed this year, compared with previous editions of The Infinite Dial. Facebook usage is flat compared to 2013, at 58%, while Twitter grew slightly from 15% to 16% year-over-year.
• Podcasting is on the rise, as weekly audio podcast consumption grew 25% year-over-year, from 12% in 2013 to 15% in 2014.
• In-car usage of online radio and other forms of digital audio continues to grow. In 2014, 26% of mobile phone users have connected devices to a vehicle, either physically or via Bluetooth, up from 21% in 2013.
• Snapchat is now one of the leading social networking services; 53% of mobile phone users are familiar with Snapchat, while 13% of Americans 12+ — and 46% of 12-24 year-olds — use the image sharing service.

The Infinite Dial 2014 from Edison Research