Last time we talked about new research demonstrating that terrestrial radio listening remains strong – in some cases at all-time highs – both in the United States and internationally. While radio use is still primarily heard over an AM/FM radio, there are Internet radio, mobile phones and downloadable applications will likely gain even more influence in how people use radio in the future.
Internet: According to the most recent Bridge Ratings study, 60 million Americans listen to some form of streaming Internet radio in a typical week with the largest percentage of the population surveyed (46%) indicating they intend to listen even more via this avenue in the coming year.
The sample of individuals 13+ demonstrated that more people spend more time with Internet radio than they do listening to their MP3 players. This statistic reverses, however, when looking at the 13-24 demographic; a group that spends more than 21 hours per week listening to their MP3s – more than any other medium. Ah, that next generation.
Mobile Phones: Of course, both the younger and older demographics are never far from their cell phones; a device with a daily use – including for the consumption of news, information and entertainment – that continues to explode. Alan Burns, a national radio consultant, recently released a new survey of 2000 CHR and A/C listening women in the U.S., finding that while AM & FM radio stations are still the primary daily device of 30% of the sample, “smart” cell phones placed a close second at 28%, (and growing fast).
Applications: Perhaps the hottest new avenue for increasing radio accessibility is the downloadable application. While web-based Pandora and Last.fm beat terrestrial radio to the punch in this department, traditional radio has embraced and is heavily promoting this valuable marketing tool in a big way. ESPN Radio (which includes local O&O station streams), in fact, is one of the top application downloads of the summer.
What does all this mean? We are not in the FM or AM business but, rather, in the listener engagement business – regardless of the hardware or delivery system. And, both are poised to continue their evolution as Apple considers placing radio receivers into their mobile devices and the NAB pushes for analog FM radio chips in cell phone handsets. More on this topic coming soon…