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Thursday, August 1, 2024

Analysis: "It's Free" Is Only One of Many Listener Benefits


Studies released by some pundits in the radio business extol that being “free” is why a plurality of listeners say they listen. Data from the latest NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study fielded last month and including responses from 3,188 people ages 14 to 64 nationwide, replicates that finding, but we think it’s important to dig deeper to find the real keys to listeners.

As shown below, when respondents were given a massive panel of reasons they may listen to the radio and asked them to select their top three reasons, “free” does rise to the top of the ranking. “It’s free” was selected by 28% of the sample, substantially ahead of three reasons almost in a dead heat for second: “To know what’s going on locally,” “To get in a better mood,” and “Just a habit” – all selected by about a fifth of the sample (and “Keeps me company” just another point behind).



Nearly a fifth also cited that radio is the “Only thing to listen to in car/truck” – an advantage that will diminish as newer models proliferate. At the bottom of the ranking of the top fourteen items shown in the chart are “To win prizes” (8%) and “Commercials tell me about businesses in my area” (7%).

Breaking out the sample by gender and generation shows – not surprisingly – that men are more likely than women to cite “Sports” as reason they listen to radio. Gen Z (ages 14-27) are slightly more likely to say they listen radio out of “habit” compared to Millennials (ages 28-43) or older adults (shown here as “Gen X+,” encompassing Gen X and the youngest five years of Baby Boomers, ages 44-64). While these Gen X+ older adults are slightly more likely to cite radio being “free” compared to younger generations, they’re substantially more likely to cite “news,” “weather,” and “To know what’s going on locally.”

📻Dive Deeper: HERE

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