Smart Speakers Bringing Radio Back Into The Home

This week’s Westwood One blog post looks at the rise of smart speaker adoption and how this shift in media use has brought AM/FM radio back into the home via smart speaker AM/FM radio streaming.

A brand new smart speaker infographic illustrates who’s streaming on smart speakers, when they’re listening, where smart speaker streaming is taking place, and more.

• Smart speaker ownership is bigger than ever: According to Nielsen, 28% of U.S. households own a smart speaker.
• Smart speaker streaming is on the rise: 19% of streaming listening to AM/FM radio stations occurred via smart speaker at the start of this year, up from 9% in January 2018.
• Streaming audiences skew female: 68% of the total music streaming audience is female, compared to 50% of the on-air audience to the same AM/FM radio stations. Across the board, streaming formats also skew more female including Adult Contemporary, CHR, Country, Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Rock, and Urban.
• Smart speaker users listen longer and more often: Smart speaker AM/FM radio streamers listen to 7:55 hours and 6.3 sessions per month, higher than the average streaming listener.
• Smart speaker streaming is a weekend activity: A higher proportion of smart speaker streaming occurs on Saturdays and Sundays. Smart speaker listening on the weekend peaks between 11AM and 6PM.