For the radio industry staying on top of technological changes that impact how consumers take in audio is vital. The old fashioned radio is being replaced by smart speakers and mobile devices and as Edison Research reported yesterday that trend continues.
Edison’s latest research continues to highlight radio’s hardware problem, especially with the younger audiences. Eleven formats were indexed against the market average for owning a traditional radio receiver in their home. Formats whose P1 listeners are more likely to own an in-home radio include Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Country, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, News/Talk, and Sports. Formats less likely to own an in-home radio include Alternative Rock, Contemporary Christian, and the two formats that index the lowest for in-home radio ownership: Hip Hop/Rap and Top 40. R&B is exactly the market average for owning a radio in the household.
The good news for radio, if the industry takes advantage of it, is that there are more devices than ever before to listen to audio. And the growth of smart speakers in the home continues.
Smart speaker ownership is consistently growing, and radio formats with younger P1 listeners, such as Alternative Rock, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, Hip Hop/Rap, R&B, Sports, and Top 40, are more likely to own one. Of course, radio stations need to take advantage of the new technology by making it easy for their listeners to find them on these devices.
Formats whose P1 listeners are less likely to own a smart speaker: Country, Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Contemporary Christian, and News/Talk.
Laura Ivey, Director of Research at Edison Research, says, “Migrating loyal radio listeners from traditional radio hardware to smart speakers and mobile devices is essential to the future of radio. Consumers of audio should be thinking of radio when they make their listening choices.”
