Perception Of Radio Is Not Reality

Edison Research recently released its quarterly report, “Share of Ear,” the media industry’s go-to for understanding how Americans consume audio each day. The “Share of Ear” report quantifies the reach and time spent with all forms of audio.

In her recent Westwood One Blog post, Lauren Vetrano, who is Director of Content Marketing at Cumulus Media | Westwood One, highlights some key findings from the latest “Share of Ear” Q1 2019 report:

• Perception doesn’t match reality: The audience share of AM/FM radio is 6 times bigger than ad-supported Pandora and Spotify combined
• AM/FM radio accounts for 77% of audio time spent with any ad-supported platform
• For the second quarter in a row, Spotify beats Pandora in share of audio time spent
• Pandora’s audience continues to freefall
• Podcast daily audiences are surging

According to an Advertiser Perceptions study of strategists, media buyers, and planners, the perception of Spotify and Pandora’s combined audience share is larger than AM/FM radio.

According to Edison Research, AM/FM radio has a 46% share of audio time spent, 6 times bigger than ad-supported Pandora and ad-supported Spotify combined.

Mark Ritson, Marketing Professor, describes this phenomenon: “There is increasing global evidence that marketers are basing their media choices on their own behavior or that stoked by the digitally obsessed marketing media, rather than actual audience data.” Perception is shaded by personal experience and for marketers and agencies, creates a major disconnect with reality.