Radios, Smart Speakers Provide Access to Audio Daily

Edison Research, with support from Audacy, Cumulus Media, and SiriusXM Media, released a new edition of the Infinite Dial, exploring all facets of the audio landscape. Much has already been said about the new streaming audio and podcast findings, but the state of consumers' evolving audio appetites reveals some meaningful insights for AM/FM radio as well.

📻RADIO DOMINATES THE IN-CAR AUDIO LANDSCAPE

The Infinite Dial affirms radio's dominance in the evolving in-car media environment, reporting 70% reach among car users. Radio's in-car audience is +27% higher than its nearest competitor, online audio - which includes AM/FM content under its umbrella, alongside pureplays and other audio services. Radio's reach in the car is also more than twice the size of podcasts' and 3x larger than SiriusXM's. 

📻RADIOS + SMART SPEAKERS PROVIDE WIDE ACCESS TO CONTENT

Over-the-air radio still dominates overall AM/FM listening, thanks in large part to the automobile, but smart speakers are providing consumers with more ways to connect with their favorite local AM/FM stations at home and work. An estimated 98 million consumers, just over one-third of the U.S. population over 12, now own a smart speaker. Nearly twice as many have a radio in their household. 3 in 4 own either audio device. Between the two devices, 74% of Americans have access to AM/FM content in their home. And for the quarter of people who don't have either device - AM/FM streaming is available on the ubiquitous smartphone, owned by 9 out of 10 Americans.

📻SMART SPEAKER NUMBERS INCREASE IN THE HOUSEHOLD

While smart speaker penetration has plateaued, interest among users is thriving as they continue to increase the number of units in their household. As of this year, nearly two-thirds of smart speaker owners have more than one device - and in fact, households are more likely to own 3+ than they are to have just one. Multiple device ownership implies that consumers who invest in a smart speaker are finding more use cases for it, creating a desire for devices in multiple rooms, and perhaps for multiple family members. The average number of smart speakers per household is now 2.9, up from 1.6 in 2018.

Consumers have more ways than ever to connect with their favorite local AM/FM stations in the car and at home (or work). Marketers, in turn, have even more ways to reach them - over-the-air and on radio station streams - through different types of devices throughout the day.

➤For more information from the Infinite Dial.