Online audio and podcast listening continues to grow in Australia according to a recent study conducted by Edison Research on behalf of Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) and Triton Digital. The findings are published in The Infinite Dial Australia 2020 which brings together the results of a representative sample of 1014 Australians aged 12 and older conducted in the first quarter of 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key findings from the Infinite Dial 2020 Australia report
- AM/FM/DAB+ radio content, including live content and catch-up podcasts, continues to reach large numbers of those in Australia age 12+. 85% of those in Australia have listened to at least 15 minutes of AM/FM/DAB+ live content or catch-up podcasts in the last month, down minimally from the 87% recorded last year. Over-the-air remains the preferred delivery mechanism of such content: 80% of those in Australia have listened to AM/FM/DAB+ content over–the–air in the last week. 12% have listened to AM/FM/DAB+ content online in the last week.
- Reported time spent listening to online audio has increased for the fourth year in a row. Online audio listeners in Australia spend an average of 12 hours and 37 minutes listening to online audio per week, up from just over 11 hours last year. The smartphone is the device the vast majority of online listeners use to listen, with 83% saying they use a smartphone to listen to online audio. 14% say they use a smart speaker to listen to online audio, up from 8% last year.
- One-quarter of those in Australia have listened to a podcast in the last month, up from 22% in 2019, yet still behind 37% of those who are monthly podcast listeners in the US. Awareness of podcasting in Australia surpasses what is seen in the US, as 87% of Australians are familiar with of podcasting compared to 75% of Americans.
- Smart speaker awareness continues to grow, with 85% of those in Australia being aware of smart speakers with 17% of those owning one of the devices (up from 14% last year). The number of smart speaker owners who own two of the devices has almost doubled since last year’s survey: 32% of smart speaker owners own two devices compared to 16% in 2019.
- At–home is the location most Australians have consumed a podcast. 81% of podcast listeners have listened to a podcast at home and 45% have listened in a car/truck.
- 85% of podcast listeners in Australia most often listen to podcasts on their smartphone/tablet or portable device, 11% listen on their computer, and 3% listen most often on an in-car entertainment system.
- 14% own a Google Home smart speaker, and no other smart speaker brands have more than 1% ownership.
- 33% of those in Australia who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month have used an online audio streaming service, up from 26% last year and just 8% two years ago.
- AM/FM/DAB+ is the audio source used most often in car: 66% use AM/FM/DAB+ most often. 11% listening to owned music and 19% listen to internet-only audio.
The Infinite Dial 2020 Australia report is freely available and can be downloaded here.
