Nielsen has unveiled its latest offering, The Record, a detailed quarterly report examining American listening habits across various ad-supported audio platforms. The debut edition, covering Q1 2024, reveals that radio dominates ad-supported listening time, accounting for 70% of daily engagement.
Podcasts follow with 20% while streaming audio services and select satellite radio channels make up the remainder.
The Record, which draws on data from Nielsen alongside Edison Research, highlights that the majority of radio listening happens during daytime hours when people are away from home, particularly in cars, where radio captures over 80% of in-car listening.
For the general population aged 18 and over, News/Talk formats lead with a significant 10.8% share of total radio listenership, which jumps to 21.7% when considering streaming-only platforms. This preference is echoed across different age groups, with News/Talk proving particularly popular in streaming among those aged 35 and older, where it captures 24.1% of the audience.
Music formats show varied popularity, with Adult Contemporary consistently appealing across all adult demographics, maintaining about 8.5% of the radio audience share both over-the-air and in streaming. Other popular music formats include Classic Hits and Country, each holding their ground in traditional broadcasting and streaming audiences.
The study also underscores the strong performance of Urban Adult Contemporary and R&B, especially within the Black 18+ demographic, where it dominates with 28.9% of the OTA and 33.5% of the streaming audience share. Similarly, Urban Contemporary and Hip-Hop/R&B formats maintain robust figures, particularly in streaming where they nearly match their OTA presence.
In the Hispanic 18+ category, Mexican Regional and Spanish Contemporary are the leading formats. Mexican Regional, for instance, secures 11.7% OTA and 7.6% in streaming, indicating its substantial reach and cultural resonance within this demographic group.
Interestingly, the data shows that while certain genres like Classic Rock and Hot AC perform well across various age groups, their streaming shares do not always proportionally reflect their OTA popularity, suggesting distinct audience behaviors in platform preference.
Rich Tunkel, Managing Director at Nielsen Audio, expressed enthusiasm about the new insights provided by The Record, stating, “We’re excited to introduce The Record, which utilizes powerful data insights from Nielsen and Edison Research to provide the industry with a unique, multi-lens look at how U.S. audiences are listening to ad-supported audio. The audio portion of consumers’ daily media diet is significant, and these new insights will serve as an important tool for advertisers, broadcasters, and podcasters alike to better understand and ultimately reach their intended audience.”
