Reaching Listeners Where and When

Between over-the-air and streaming, consumers have countless ways to connect to their favorite local stations throughout the day. We know people are listening, but where are they tuning-in? Knowing where and when listeners are consuming radio can be beneficial to brands looking to reach consumers in locations, during activities where they are primed for category messaging. To better understand where consumers are listening throughout their busy days, Katz analyzed national listening behaviors in Nielsen's June'23 RADAR release.

Looking at the key demographic group of Adults 25-54, 73% of weekly radio listening takes place out-of-home, while 27% is at home. Out-of-home is defined by Nielsen as anywhere that is not part of the person's home, such as a person's car, place of employment, stores, other people's homes, etc. As radio usage is predominantly away from home, it is able to reach consumers where and when TV and other media cannot. Radio's usage complements other media, filling the messaging gaps left when consumers are in the car and on-the-go - where and when it is most actionable.

The daypart with the highest share of OOH listening is Midday, followed by PM Drive (80% and 79%, respectively) - not surprising, as these hours coincide with traditional workdays and regular business hours. These are the hours most likely to reach consumers on-the-go and primed for messaging, including retail, grocery, restaurant, and automotive-related advertisers. Connecting with listeners out and about and in-car ensures ads are being heard when consumers are in a position to act on them.

The daypart during which most listening takes place in-home is Evenings, at 40%. Weekends have a healthy share of in-home listening at 35%, but the vast majority of weekend listening is still away from home. Brands can tap into consumers' attention spans at home by delivering messaging related to home-based products and services, non-store retailers, and even aspirational brands, such as travel.