The annual physical exam of radio results, the Jacobs Media Techsurvey 23 results, were recently presented by Fred Jacobs.
The data shows that radio’s audience continues to get chipped away slowly. The study shows the industry’s best opportunities to hold on to its audience are through utilizing as many distribution methods as possible, taking advantage of localization and star personalities, understanding the new realities of who is listening and where, and clinging to the sacred space on the automobile’s dashboard that radio has held for so long.
The industry will either fight together to preserve that space on the dashboard or watch listening continue to erode at a more rapid pace.
The results are more stable than the past few years, suggesting we have reached or are approaching “a new normal.” Part of what it looks like includes a sizable portion of the population that works all of the time or part of the time from home. That has implications for broadcasters.
Some of the things that broadcasters did during Covid, both good and bad, have stuck. Radio’s efforts to be “local” are noticed. On the other hand, the continual reductions in workforce may have come at a cost.
There are generational differences that radio broadcasters will eventually have to pay for. Gen X is at the edge of the broadcast world. Millennials and Gen Z are light years different than prior generations.
The device called “the radio” is disappearing. That is not good for the radio industry. It costs listenership. The digital options replacing “radios” also have more content options. We’ve seen what has happened to listening levels over the past ten years as people have moved away from radios and to digital devices.
Continuing to cut high-value content creators and over-commercialize every hour of the day will send listeners to options they know they have on their smartphones and speakers.
Radio broadcasters must be better than the non-broadcast competition in every aspect to win when distribution is no longer an advantage. Broadcasters cannot afford more unforced errors.
The subscription model is wearing thin. Techsurvey touched on the subject. In a world where consumers feel over-subscribed, broadcasters who couple strong local community involvement with popular personalities may find that free is radio’s killer app.
Among Techsurvey 2023 respondents, podcasting is over-saturated. I interpret the data as meaning there is more upside in better mobile apps and smart speaker skills delivering the primary content. Success still requires focus and concentration of resources.
If you don’t like numbers, read the bold headlines, and you’ll get the drift of each section.
Here is a review of key points of the data:
Techsurvey is a 30,000-person survey. Over 400 radio stations participated. Respondents are primarily from the stations’ databases. Thus, the results may or may not represent the entire population. They are most likely representative of the stations’ P1 listeners. The survey was conducted from January 4 – February 7, 2023.
Cume Stabilizes
After a four-year slump, cume held flat from 2022 to 2023, with 86% of the sample saying they listen to AM/FM radio for at least an hour each weekday. Between 2018 and 2022, the figure dropped each year, sliding from 92% to 86%.
Listening levels are highest among Boomers and Gen X and lowest among Millennials and Gen Z.
Steady Momentum
The numbers saying they listen to radio more, less, and about the same have stabilized at about pre-Covid levels.
Except for the Covid year (2021), between 56% and 60% of respondents say they listen to about the same amount of radio as a year ago; 12 or 13% say less, and 15 or 16% say more.
The Reasons They Listen
As subscription fees for content pile up, something the study addresses later, the importance of free has never been higher. Comparing how many don’t listen to podcasts, how easy it is to access radio content shouldn’t be discounted.
There are three reasons again this year that reached 60%
- Easiest to listen to in the car (67%)
- It’s free (64%)
- Personalities (60%)
Several secondary reasons strike emotional chords reached into the 50s.
- Habit (56%)
- Feel a connection with the radio (52%) – interestingly, the younger end and music stations score highest here. Potentially something N/T and Sports stations may want to investigate in their research.
- Like to work with the radio (50%)
Others with significant scores that are emotional connections include:
- Keeps me company.
- What’s going on locally. Measured separately as an agree/disagree statement, 57% strongly agree that “one of radio’s primary advantages is its local feel.” This trended up from low to mid 40% before Covid to 49% and now 57%.
- To be informed about the news
- To be informed in an emergency
- Talk shows.
Meeting The Audience Where They Are
One of Jacobs’ main points was that stations have to meet the audience where they are, and they aren’t where they used to be. The survey shows that 3% of respondents are unemployed. As Jacobs said, this is consistent with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Among those working, over one-third work from home at least part of the time.
Among News/Talk and Sports format P1s, 48 and 47 percent, respectively, work from home at least part of the time. These findings have profound implications for how these stations program, promote, and market.
Personalities VS. Music. Personalities Win, But The Gap Closes From 7 to 3 Points
In 2019, personalities surpassed music as the leading primary reason for listening to their station. The percentage that says personalities have grown, even if by just a small amount each year. This year it fell, albeit slightly.
Jacobs points to something in the data that may hint at why the value of personalities drops and the gap between music and personalities closes. Among those who say they are listening to less radio, 27% say because “the station they liked changed format or fired a personality.” Another 12% “say there are no DJs or personalities I care about”. In addition to the people who have been fired or laid off, there have been many high-profile retirements over the past year.
Then there are what Jacobs calls the “unforced errors.” Too many commercials is at the top of the list at 31%.
While radio is losing, for whatever reason, many of its biggest stars and adding units at will, it’s facing more competition than ever, and the audience knows it.
38% say they are listening less because they have more audio options in the car (38% this year vs. 33% last year).
Another 34% say they have more streaming options, including Pandora or Spotify (vs. 27% in 2022)
And 32% say they are using mobile phone apps more too.
Radio is losing listenership because of a combination of people working from home, losing its stars, bad programming decisions (or what Jacobs calls unforced errors), and consumers having more choices than ever.
The device known as “a radio” is gradually disappearing.
Fewer than eight in ten now have a “radio” where they live.
In 2018, 83% had a radio in their homes. It was flat at 81% for the past three years before dropping to 78% this year.
Among millennials, only 67% have a radio where they live.
Listening is rapidly trending away from radio devices and toward digital devices. The glass is half-empty because as listening moves to digital devices, the radio industry will split audio entertainment time with more sources. The glass is half-full if it can compete on a range of platforms because radio has established brands, stars, and content.
Among all listeners, 58% listen on traditional devices, while 38% are on digital devices. Last year it was 61% – 35%. Ten years ago, it was 85% on traditional devices to 14% on digital devices.
Among those who work from home 100% of the time, 51% listen on traditional devices, while 43% listen on digital devices.
We’ve seen what has happened to listening levels over the past ten years as people stopped listening on radios and gravitated to computer streams, smartphones, and other devices. It won’t take another ten years for the lines to cross. It doesn’t take a clairvoyant to see what will happen when it does. Broadcasters cannot afford to make more unforced errors.
Among Sports Station P1 listeners, 47% listen on traditional devices, with 46% listening on digital devices. In 2022, 51% of listening was on traditional and 46% on digital devices.
News/Talk Station P1 listeners may hang in there the longest, with 62% still on traditional devices vs. 33% on digital ones. In Techsurvey 22, it was 65-31%.
Smart Speakers and Mobile Apps Replacing Radio Devices For Listening Destinations
Smart speakers appeared to stall at 35% ownership in the past two surveys amidst reports of privacy concerns and ho-hum consumer interest. This year the category jumped three points to 38%. One of the top actions respondents report doing with their smart speakers is listening to the radio. Although radio devices didn’t offer other alternatives, smart speakers offer radio stations opportunities, particularly among Millennials and Gen Xers.
Likewise, mobile apps can turn a smartphone into listening opportunities for radio stations. App downloads have stalled at about four out of ten among these respondents, with Gen Xers, Boomers, and especially sports station P1 listeners leading the way. News/Talk listeners are below the average, suggesting it is an area for these stations to improve.
Respondents estimated that the majority of their time in the car is spent listening to radio (54%), with 45% listening to other sources – SiriusXM leading the way at 19%, followed by their personal music at 9%.
The trend has eroded from 62% radio in 2018 to 54% this year. Millennials already consume more non-radio audio in the car (57%) than radio (41%).
In-car listening is at the tipping point among sports station P1 listeners, with 50% of their time in the car spent listening to radio and 48% listening to other audio.
News/Talk station partisans still spend the most time (59%) listening to the radio in the car and 39% to other audio.
The connected car is the next threat to radio listening.
In Techsurvey 23, just under one-third own a car with an in-car media system (32%, up from 30% in 2022 and 27% in the prior two years). Sports radio fans lead the way at 38%.
Among those who already own a connected car, the paradigm has already shifted; they estimate they listen to other audio 52% of the time and radio 46% of the time.
Media Pyramid
Techsurvey 23 Measures 17 Types of Media. Good research should yield the same results in various ways. In Techsurvey 23, indeed, that happens. For example, in the Media Pyramid, AM/FM Radio shows up with the same 86% one hour or more per day weekday listening as in the listenership question. Smart speakers show up with the identical 35 to 38% increase year over year again in this section.
Of the 17 media types, 12 are up, two are down, and three are flat. Smartphones continue to grow, up two points and matching TV/Video at 94%. The biggest gainers are Hearables (+8), Smartwatches (+7), and Smart TVs (+6).
Although most media participation among News/Talk format fans is up compared to the prior year, they remain at or below the average for everything except satellite radio at 34%, up 1% compared to last year and compared to 28% for the overall sample.
Sports format fans are also up versus the prior year in almost all media except, oddly, satellite radio (37% vs. 39% last year). Unlike News/Talk format fans, Sports format fans are over the average in almost every area, except video games, where participation is seven points below the average (35% vs. 42%).
Brand Pyramids
Among Social Media brands, Facebook remains the giant with 68% weekly users. It’s noticeably weaker among News/Talk and Sports P1 listeners, where just under 60% use it weekly. Among Sports format fans, Netflix has slightly more weekly users.
The three brands where News/Talk fans outperformed the average are Nextdoor, Sirius/XM, and the station’s stream. Year-to-year, Twitter has made the largest gains among News/Talk P1 listeners, up six points to 21%. YouTube, Facebook, and the P1 station’s stream have each gained four points year over year.
Sports station P1 listeners use Twitter 20 points more than the average, and less surprisingly, Amazon Prime Video 10 points more than the average, SiriusXM, and Linkedin nine points more than average. Amazon Prime Video has made the greatest gains year over year progress with sports listeners, up seven points from Techsurvey 22.
Subscription Services
Nearly nine out of ten subscribe to at least one streaming video service, and almost eight out of ten say they have two or more. Seven in ten are with the statement, “I am concerned about the growing number of subscription fees I pay for media content.” Over 40% say they agree strongly with the statement.
Podcasting Continues to Grow – Slowly, Enthusiasm Wanes
Podcasting continues its slow march, increasing from 30 to 33% who listen to at least one podcast weekly. However, 37% never listen to a podcast and another 21% say they listen to less than one a month, which is almost never.
There is more interest among Gen Z and Millennials and Spoken Word partisans.
Jacobs’ comment about enthusiasm comes when he shows the trend of listeners who say they are listening to more podcasts this year than last. The percentage was 40 and 41% three and four years ago but has slipped to 31% this year.
It’s among radio station database listeners. There may be a different audience for podcasts, but with limited resources, wouldn’t radio be better off dedicating them to focusing on the core product and shoring up its digital delivery while protecting its space on the dashboard?
