Down Under: Radio, Smart Speakers Clear Audio Winners

More Australians than ever are using online audio services, and are now consuming audio online for more than eleven hours per week. These are two of the many findings from The Infinite Dial 2019 Australia, a comprehensive study of digital media behavior in Australia, released today by Edison Research, the leading provider of high-quality survey research about audio in the U.S. and worldwide.

The Australian Infinite Dial Study was commissioned by Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) via their PodcastOne subsidiary, and Triton Digital, the global technology and services provider to the digital audio and podcast industries.  This marks the third annual release of the study in Australia, and the continued expansion of The Infinite Dial, the longest running survey of digital media consumer behavior in U.S.  The survey is a high-quality telephone survey of all Australians ages 12 and over, designed to represent the nation’s population.  The results were first made public at the Mumbrella Audioland conference in Sydney on May 2, 2019 in a keynote speech by Edison president Larry Rosin.

A free, live webinar of the full results of The Infinite Dial Australia 2019 will be presented on May 8, 9:00 pm ET/May 9, 11:00 am AEST.  To register, Click Here.

Many streaming services saw significant year-over-year growth in awareness of their brands in Australia.  This year’s survey shows that 85% of Australians are now aware of Spotify, compared to 77% in 2018, and 83% are aware of Apple Music, up from 75% in 2018. In addition, the study found that Amazon Music and Google Play are also widely known and  SoundCloud posted awareness from 42% of Australians.

In addition to those who have used online audio in the last week, time spent listening to audio online has increased once again, with Australians averaging over 11 hours per week, compared to that of 2018 where the average time spent listening to online audio was just over 10 hours.

The 2019 study found that awareness of podcasting  in Australia continues to outpace what is seen in the United States, as 83% of Australians are familiar with of podcasting compared to 70% of Americans. The portion of Australians who have listened to a podcast in the last month grew from 18% to 22% in 2019.

Smart speaker ownership has nearly tripled since last year, with 13% of Australians age 12+ now owning one of these devices, up from 5% in 2018.

“The study shows that audio in Australia is the same kind of dynamic space we see in America,” said Edison Research President Larry Rosin.  “Australian radio retains a large audience while streaming and podcasting continue to grow and new devices create new opportunities.”

Other key Infinite Dial Australia findings include:

• Radio is the leading audio platform consumed by Australians with 83% of people age 12+ having listened to an AM/FM or DAB+ station in an average week.
• Radio is the choice for in-car listening, with 85% of people age 18+ having listened to AM/FM/DAB+ radio in the car in the last month. Sixty-nine percent of Australians use AM/FM/DAB+ radio as the audio source they use most often in-car.

Larry Rosin

An average of six podcasts are listened to each week by those who are weekly podcast listeners.
“The online audio and podcast industry in Australia is primed for continuous growth, as demonstrated by the gradual increase in reported consumption year over year,” said John Rosso, President of Market Development at Triton Digital.  “The ongoing proliferation of smart speaker ownership and streaming on mobile devices will undoubtedly play a meaningful role in the continuous growth of these mediums across the region.”

The Infinite Dial 2019 Australia study was conducted in the first quarter of 2019 and uses a nationally representative survey of 1,021 people.  The sample is a random probability telephone sample, comprising of both mobile phones and landlines, of all Australians ages 12 and older. The data is weighted to 12+ population figures.