The summer travel season is right around the corner, and there is a good bet that broadcast radio will be along for the ride. Edison Research says as much as younger demographics are using streaming services, its latest Share of Ear data shows that the in-car environment is where AM/FM radio is most likely to reach 13-to-34-year-olds.
Overall, Edison says a majority of 53% of the teen and young adult demos are reached by broadcast radio every single day. “That points to radio’s resilient reach,” Edison says in a blog post. “This can be surprising to those who believe young listeners exclusively use streaming services or only listen to digital audio. But location of listening is key when it comes to radio consumption among this group. The car is not only a good place to reach young radio listeners, for many it’s the only place they listen.”Edison says among the 13-to-34-year-olds who listen to any radio, 56% of them only listen while they are in a vehicle. “Programmers should consider the fact that when their messages and music are heard by young radio listeners, it is often in an in-car environment,” it says, saying drive times are still the most important. “Programmers should be mindful of all the content they place on-air during these times since this key demographic is most likely to be listening to radio in the car then,” Edison says.
But the research company says it is just as notable that 44% of younger radio listeners report listening either someplace else, or both in the car and someplace else. “Advertisers looking for young people can find them listening to the radio in their cars, in impressive numbers,” its analysis says.
How old a car is also having an impact on audio consumption, with newer models equipped with options like satellite radio. Yet Edison released data last month that showed AM/FM radio accounts for the lion’s share of time spent listening in vehicles regardless of the age of the vehicle. It makes up more than half of in-vehicle listening for 2020 and newer cars (52%) and 2010-2015 model vehicles (56%).
Edison also said that digital listening, whether to streaming radio, music services, and podcasts, has yet to make significant inroads. Three-quarters of in-car listening went to either AM/FM or satellite radio regardless of how old the vehicle is. Satellite radio does its best among 2020 and newer models, with 22% of those vehicle owners spending time with SiriusXM. Edison points out that newer cars often come with free trial subscriptions, and that may give satellite radio a bump among drivers of new model vehicles.