It seems like a lifetime since lockdown began, and we wanted to look at how audio consumption has changed over this period. Audio played a major part of our lives pre-COVID with the drive time listeners, the public transport podcaster and the pavement pounder looking to stay informed or for a bit of escapism on the way to and from work.
Roll forward a few months and radio has been a clear beneficiary during these challenging times. Radiocentre is reporting that 38% of commercial radio listeners are tuning in for an extra hour and 45 minutes each day since lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The time lost from the traditional car commuter slots have been more than made up for with an increase in listening across the day.
This resonates with Irish listenership too as we see a massive uplift on our digital stream since the pandemic hit. Latest figures for June 2020 show digital listening hours are up 75% on the previous year and up 53% on active sessions.
The pandemic has also allowed radio to play to one of its traditional strengths: that of the comforting, friendly voice in the corner of the room – succour to those living alone or working from home.
According to the Radiocentre’s ‘Bounce Back and Beyond’ report 90% of listeners say the radio keeps them in touch with the outside world and 84% say it keeps them company.
Podcasts have also made significant gains with changes in consumer behaviour during the lockdown period accelerating the popularity of podcasts leading to a record 11.2 million listens during the week of 20th April on the Acast network alone. This was boosted in part by the 43% of us who have started exercising more since the pandemic began.
The longevity of these changes really depends on how consumers adapt in the long term to this new world but the opportunities for audio advertising are wide ranging.
If you would like a more in depth analysis of these points or we can help with your advertising needs please contact us on hello@urbanmedia.ie.
Bringing your message to new urban audiences.
Source: Radiocentre, Adswizz, Acast
