Nielsen Cross-Platform Report Finds Two Hours Of Radio Listening Daily For The Average American

New Data

YESTERDAY (NET NEWS 12/2), NIELSEN had some good news for radio, when it released highlights from the DECEMBER 2013 RADAR 119 National Radio Listening Report. The report shows radio’s U.S. audience increased year over year, adding more than 700,000 weekly listeners since DECEMBER 2012.

TODAY, NIELSEN has released a "cross-platform report," in which SVP/Insights DOUNIA TURRILL writes, "Some of what keeps me up at night is the drive to understand and explain how we each consume media content across all screens and at all times. At NIELSEN, we work on providing the metrics that allow our clients to understand how many people were reached with entertainment content, how the entertainment and marketing messages resonated with consumers and the Holy Grail, knowing what action this triggered. Did people watch, read, listen to or interact with content and commercial messages that drove them to that purchase point? This year we’ve added audio measurement to our portfolio. Imagine a consumer’s day as a pie chart, this capability provides another piece that makes up the consumer’s daily contact and interaction with content. Each milestone in total audience measurement allows us to get closer to that full 'day in the life,' and gets me closer to a full night of sleep!"

Key NIELSEN findings include:

• The average American radio listener tunes in to AM/FM radio for over two hours per day and audio consumption reaches a plateau in the morning hours, peaks around noon and then stays fairly constant through the day before tapering off as people start their evenings and morph into television viewers.

• Over a full year, the average American consumes nearly 60 hours of content each week across different platforms like television, radio, online and mobile. That’s over two-and-a-half days!

• More than 90% of Americans listen to radio each week, and those numbers are highest with African Americans (92%) and Hispanics (94%).

Adding radio makes this report a must read for those in the business. TOURRILL adds, "Adding the radio listener’s media habits to the mix highlights the part that AM/FM radio plays in people’s daily lives. How many of us tune in to the radio during the week listening to news, sports, music and talk shows as well as the all-important traffic report? In fact, more than 90% of Americans listen to radio each week, and those numbers are highest with African Americans (92%) and Hispanics (94%)."

"Radio is a constant in our daily lives and the average American radio listener tunes in to radio over two hours per day," continues TOURRILL. "Interestingly, audio reaches a plateau in the morning hours, peaking around noon and then staying fairly constant through the day before tapering off as people start their evening. In addition we know that people who listen to a lot of radio also spend time with online radio, most prevalently the millennials. Morning commutes, listening 'on the go' during the day as well as the much-anticipated evening commute, create the daily view of time spent one might expect. In fact we see that between the morning hours and early evening hours, roughly two-thirds of audio listening comes from out-of-home tuning. The hyper local nature of audio offers advertisers community-level engagement between content and in-store activity -- radio catches you right before you shop and make purchase decisions. As we continue to take a close look at the similarities and differences between radio listeners, digital consumers and television viewers we keep building to that total view of daily media consumption."

Check out the full report here.

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