It’s official, we are a nation of audio addicts. According to findings from the Infinite Dial 2023, Australia leads the world in digital audio listening. The report by Edison Research found that digital audio listening is going from strength to strength thanks to a continued migration of listeners to digital radio and a continued love affair with podcasts.
Key findings from the report:
- 8 in 10 Australians 12+ listen to radio weekly
- 81% listen to digital audio monthly
- 43% listen to podcasts monthly
Australians love podcasts
Australian podcast listening was up to 43% in 2023, from 40% in 2022 and well ahead of the U.S. for the first time. Australian has become a global leader in podcast monthly listening, fuelled by breadth of content and popularity of radio broadcast podcast content. Approximately one in 10 Australians over the age of 12 listen to a podcast ever day with weekly podcast listeners averaging five episodes per week.
The latest Australian Podcast Ranker results for May 2023 had well known talents Hamish & Andy (SCA) taking out the #1 position with 1,091,847 monthly listeners. Followed closely by the previous month’s leader Casefile True Crime (ARN) with 1,005,268 monthly listeners.
Radio remains relevant
Listening to radio in the car remains the leading audio choice with 84% of Australians tuning in while on the go. As more new cars enter the market offering DAB+, this has grown audiences for the format, now triple what it was in 2020 to 7million people per week.
While it may be easy to assume most radio listening skews to older demographics, but this would be wrong. 82% of people aged 12-34 listening to online audio monthly and 76% are tuning into radio each week. When comparing to the 50% using TikTok each week, it’s a sobering reminder not to discount audio in engaging young Australians.
Does the love for audio translate into strong sales for audio networks?
According to Standard Media Index data, radio ad revenue was up marginally at the end of calendar year in 2022. Up 3% from the previous year with much of the increased spend within metro markets. Unfortunately, with increasing interest rates and a slowing confidence in the economy radio revenue was in decline first quarter 2023, down -10% YOY. This however not an isolated situation, with declines seen across all key media formats comparative to the year prior.
An opportunity in a soft market to embrace the power of audio
With Australians love of audio holding strong, the slowing of ad spend by advertisers can create an opportunity for those willing and able to invest in the current market. Audio publishers keen to sustain spending likely to offer increased benefits and for advertisers an opportunity to continue to engage with audiences within format less cluttered by their competitors. Spending in a downturn often showing long term brand benefits and greater growth trajectory when markets inevitably stabilise.
