audio and podcasting in the us
TRANSCRIPT
Audio and Podcasting in the US
Damian Radcliffe January 2016@damianradcliffe
Some key stats and trends
This is where we were, just over 5 years ago
Note:
• Less than half have heard of podcasts
• 71% listen on their computer –not a mobile device
• Number of “watched” podcasts
What’s changed?
Notable growth in podcast consumption
Mobile/Portable devices playing a role
Where we are now: 8 key charts from PewAnd some thoughts from me
Big growth in online listening
Potential drivers:
• Increase in connectivity> broadband, Wi-‐Fi and at work connections
• Mobile devices
• 3G and 4G
• Increased / cheaper data plans
But still only just over half of US adults
Beginning to change in-‐car listening
But still less than 4/10
Awareness more than doubled in a decade
But still less than half
With 17% listening in the last month
This “revolution”
(evolution?) may have been
overstated However, growth is discernible
Case Study: NPR
Sources of optimism
Americans consume 4+ hours audio a dayEdison’s Share of Ear™ report used results are from a nationally representative sample of 2,096 Americans ages 13+ who completed a 24-‐hour audio listening diary during May 2014.
The study revealed:
1. Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 5 minutes each day consuming audio.
2. More than 52% of that time goes to broadcast radio on all its various platforms.
3. Other sources of pre-‐programmed audio now control 26% of listening time.
4. Listening to your own music collection accounts for more than 20% of time spent listening.
7 key stats collated by Search Engine Journal1. 17 percent of US adults had listened to a podcast during the month leading up to
annual survey in 2014. That was a 9 percent increase from 2008. (Source)2. In 2013, Apple surpassed 1 billion podcast subscriptions. (Source)3. 1 in 4 podcast listeners plug their smartphone or MP3 player into their car audio
system. (Source)4. By 2025, 50 percent of cars will have Internet connectivity. (Source)5. As of 2014, 58 percent of Americans own a smartphone. (Source)6. 67 percent of podcast listeners don’t mind sponsorship messages and occasionally find
them useful, compared to only 6 percent positive sentiment expressed for the advertising approaches of television or commercial radio. (Source)
7. Only 3 percent of marketers are currently using podcasting in their social media marketing strategy. However, 32 percent have a desire to learn how to use podcasting in their marketing efforts and 23 percent have plans to increase their podcasting activities in 2013. (Source)
Podcaster listeners really love podcasts
You just need to convert them
From the Washington Post:
• Podcasters like the personal connection they have with fans who listen through ear buds or headphones, which can make shows feel more intimate than other forms of media.
• Roman Mars (99% Invisible) said he keeps that in mind and mikes himself more closely than he used to. This allows him to use a quieter voice, which he calls a “head voice,” in the hopes of more closely connecting with listeners.
• Fans “have helped to raise nearly $600,000 in the past three years — money that has allowed Mars to hire three reporters and producers.” (The article notes 5 years ago he had a 5k budget)
There’s a potentially captive audience
“Americans spend more than three hours a day commuting, working out and doing household chores that can be
accompanied by audio entertainment, according to census data studied by Matt Lieber, a former public radio producer who co-‐founded the podcast company with Blumberg.”
And lots of great content out there
With more coming on-‐stream every day