From Radio To Podcasts, New Study Tracks How Audio Fits Into Daily Life.

Signal Hill Insights — the Toronto-based market research company that works with Triton Digital to track U.S. podcast listening — is launching a new project closer to home that looks to weave together how Canadians are consuming not only podcasts, but also terrestrial and digital radio, satellite radio, and other forms of audio entertainment. Audio on the Move will be the first holistic study of consumption in Canada and will replace the long-running Radio on the Move studies that have been produced by Signal Hill founder Jeff Vidler since 2010.

“The audio marketplace has changed and grown significantly,” says Vidler. “Most importantly, the silos have been coming down between different audio channels. While radio continues to deliver unparalleled reach among Canadians, virtually all Canadian broadcasters have now also planted their stake in digital audio.”

Signal Hill says the Audio on the Move study will look at how audio content is consumed at home, at work, in the car, and on the go via a multitude of devices, apps, channels and platforms. The goal is to provide a clear picture of how audio accompanies and complements daily life. That data can then be used to help the audio industry and its advertisers know where consumers are directing their attention, and why.

“The overall growth in digital audio revealed a gap in the marketplace, with clients and advertisers asking for a more holistic view of where and how time is being spent with audio,” says VP of Research Matt Hird. “Audio on the Move recognizes Canadian consumers live in a multi-channel and multi-platform world, seeking to understand their preferences and real-world behaviors.”

The Canadian Podcast Listener study, which was launched in 2017 in partnership with Ulster Media, will continue to be produced separately from the Audio on the Move study to provide a detailed picture of the market’s podcast audience. “It does not replace The Canadian Podcast Listener, but rather enhances it with additional context and color,” Hird says.

Kamloops, B.C.-based Pattison Media, which owns 51 radio stations along with a podcast company, and Spotify have signed on as inaugural subscribers of Audio on the Move.

“We see the growing importance of digital audio consumption in our own business,” says Pattison Chief Innovation Officer Andrew Snook. “The holistic multi-channel perspective of Audio on the Move will provide us with crucial insights for our digital initiatives, such as Validate audio attribution, and to map our overall strategy for the future.”

Signal Hill says the new subscriber-only study’s findings will be released in late spring.