COVID-19 is changing listening habits in the US with the percentage of listeners streaming AM/FM Radio increasing to 10% and the share of time spent listening to audio at home has increased by 44%. These findings are from the Share of Ear reports from Edison Research and represent the results of two surveys conducted in May 2020.
Streaming accounts for 10% of AM/FM Radio
Most radio stations in the US now can be heard online via a stream in addition to over the air and this now accounts for 10% of AM/FM radio listening coming from streams versus 90% of listening on a traditional radio receiver. The average for 2020 so far is 9% of listening to AM/FM audio sources coming from streaming.
Edison Research Director of Research Laura Ivey, said “Adoption of radio station streams continues to be slow. While it remains an area of opportunity for broadcasters, to date most people in the U.S. listen over the air when they are listening to AM/FM radio content.”
She continued, “The statistics here represent the combination of music and spoken-word listening. Our research shows listening via streaming is higher for spoken-word radio stations such as news, public radio, talk and sports while listening via streaming is lower for music radio stations.”
Findings from the survey in May 2020 show that while total time spent listening was only slightly lower during the COVID-19 disruptions in the US, there was a considerable shift in where that audio consumption happened. While 48.5% of all listening occurred at home before COVID-19 (and this finding has been very consistent since Share of Ear began in 2014), 70.0% of all listening was at-home in May. All three other locations – car, work and ‘other’ — dropped.
Edison Research director Laura Ivey said, “It’s important to recognise that our survey asks where the respondent is when they are listening to audio – not what they are doing, The shift to ‘work-from-home’ for so many, especially office workers who tend to spend a lot of time with audio, is clearly reflected.”
Podcasts and Smart Speakers usage increases
COVID-19 has led to enormous changes in daily life for many Americans. Listening to podcasts grew by 26% from Q1 2020 representing 5.4% of all time spend with audio up from 4.3%.
Smart Speaker usage also hit a new high, with its share leaping by more than 40% (albeit from a relatively low base). During COVID-19 restrictions, 5.3% of all time spent with audio was through a smart speaker, up from 3.7% in Q1.
Ivey commented, “The movement of so much listening to the home changed the shares of many platforms and devices. It will be fascinating to see how these numbers continue to develop as American life evolves during and, eventually, after this pandemic period ends.”
