Australians are turning more and more to phones, PCs and tablets, and smart speakers for radio, with phones now the third most popular option behind AM/FM and DAB+.
2.5 million people listened to radio via smartphones in the December quarter, according to industry body Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), up 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2019; this represents 17 per cent of the population in the five big metro markets.
PCs and tablets saw 1.2 million listeners over the same period – up 27 per cent – and smart speakers jumped 58 per cent to 1.04 million.
According to Joan Warner, chief executive officer of CRA, while traditional broadcast remains the most popular method of listening to radio, with 83 per cent of people tuning in via AM/FM, followed by 27 per cent using DAB+ digital radio, the growth of phones, PCs, tablets, and smart speakers is good news for the industry.
“More Australians are discovering that they can enjoy radio at any time of the day wherever they are across a range of devices and platforms from traditional broadcast to radio apps on smart phones.
“Broadcast radio remains the core and most important platform for the foreseeable future, but we are seeing some exciting growth in digital and streaming audiences as a result of investments and partnerships in these areas to make radio even more accessible across multiple devices,” she said.
RadioApp is the official radio streaming app of Commercial Radio Australia, with other apps such as iHeartRadio and TuneIn also popular.
