63% of US adults listen to AM/FM radio daily according to a report from NPR and Edison Research which found that radio consumed 41% of their audio listening time. The Radio: Live on Air and Everywhere report identified six segments of radio listeners, their listening behaviours and their attitudes towards advertising. The research reveals that radio plays an important role in the lives of consumers and that the majority of radio listeners are receptive to sponsorship messages on the platform.
Approximately 156 million people age 18+ (63% of US adults) listen to AM/FM radio daily, and listeners are driven to the medium for myriad reasons. The study finds that the heaviest users of radio are the most open to its advertising messages. Two of the six segments of listeners, ‘Radio Heads’ and ‘Connection Seekers’, the groups that spend the most time with radio, are the least likely to avoid ads or sponsorship messages on AM/FM radio.
The six radio listener segments identified by the study are:
- Radio Heads (9% of radio listeners) Listen for all audio needs; listen to the most radio
- Connection Seekers (16% of radio listeners) Listen for company and connection
- Infomaniacs (18% of radio listeners) Listen for their need to consume news and information
- Rhythm Rockers (27% of radio listeners) Listen for their need to consume music
- Laidback Listeners (17% of radio listeners) Listen to radio only in the background
- Habitualists (13% of radio listeners) Listen to radio when it is the only option available
Regardless of segment, 47% of radio listeners overall agree that listening to ads is a fair trade off to consume the free content. Almost half of all AM/FM radio listeners (46%) say they have considered a new company, product, or service after hearing an ad on the radio.
NPR Radio listeners show a particularly strong engagement with radio and its sponsorship messages: with 46% agreeing that they are more likely to trust a company they hear advertised on NPR and 59% agreeing that NPR engages their mind in a more positive way than other media does. NPR listeners are more likely to be Infoseekers (26% of all NPR listeners), Connection Seekers (19%), and Radio Heads (15%) than the average radio listener.
Even with the growth in available online audio and other options, this new research finds that 33% of AM/FM radio listeners say the platform is becoming a more important part of their lives.
The full report, which draws from a US national quantitative survey of 1500 representative US adults aged 18 and over conducted between the 13th and 21st January 2021 and can be downloaded here.
NPR (National Public Radio) is an independent, non-profit media organization in the US that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It was founded on a mission to create a more informed public and can be found on local radio stations, online and now on smart speaker devices by simply saying “Play NPR”.
