Radio Streaming Listening Surges

Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of time spent with audio in America. Edison Research surveys 4,000 Americans to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.

Perception vs. reality: Agencies and advertisers underestimate AM/FM radio shares and overestimate Pandora and Spotify audiences

The just released Q3 2022 report reveals a yawning gap in agency/marketer perceptions of audio audiences. A study of 300 media agencies and marketers conducted in August 2022 by Advertiser Perceptions, the gold standard measurement firm of advertiser sentiment, found the perceived combined share of Pandora/Spotify is 44%, much greater than the perceived share of AM/FM radio (28%).

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® blog outlines the key findings from the latest Q3 2022 release.

• Perception vs. reality: Agencies and advertisers underestimate AM/FM radio shares and overestimate Pandora and Spotify audiences. A study of 300 media agencies and marketers conducted in August 2022 by Advertiser Perceptions, the gold standard measurement firm of advertiser sentiment, found the perceived combined share of Pandora/Spotify is 44%, much greater than the perceived share of AM/FM radio (28%).
• According to the Q3 2022 “Share of Ear,” AM/FM radio’s persons 18+ share of ad-supported audio (74%) is 15 times larger than Pandora (5%) and 19 times greater than Spotify (4%).
• AM/FM radio streaming hits a record high, representing 17% of persons 25-54 AM/FM radio listening.

• All AM/FM radio streaming growth is coming from men. Among men 25-54, AM/FM radio streaming represents an astonishing 23% of all AM/FM radio listening, up 3X 2016 (8%).
• Among women 25-54, AM/FM radio streaming has been flat since 2018.
• Spoken word represents a far greater share of AM/FM radio streaming time spent (41%) compared to over-the-air AM/FM radio (28%). Among men, nearly half of AM/FM radio streaming time spent goes to spoken word.

• 2022 versus 2017: AM/FM radio is dominant, AM/FM radio streaming doubles, podcasts are up 2.5X, Pandora is down, and Spotify up slightly.
• AM/FM radio’s 25-54 streaming audiences are 20% larger than ad-supported Spotify and Pandora combined.
• Podcast audiences are on fire. Since the pandemic, daily podcast audiences have been on a tear. From 2016 to 2019, podcast weekly reach grew modestly and consistently by 6 points over four years (8.8% to 15%).
• AM/FM radio is the “queen of the road” with a stunning 89% share of ad-supported audio in the car.

Click here to view a 13-minute video of the key findings.