Infinite Dial 2021 Shows Online Audio Listening Growth Slowing, Podcasts Continuing To Grow

This Year's Model

EDISON RESEARCH's TOM WEBSTER and TRITON DIGITAL's JOHN ROSSO unveiled the 2021 edition of THE INFINITE DIAL study on digital media consumption in a webinar THURSDAY (3/11) that had some surprises, including a slowing in online audio listening growth and FACEBOOK showing some usage erosion, and more evidence of podcasting's incursion into the mainstream.

The survey of 1,507 people 12 and older in JANUARY 2021 showed monthly online audio listening flattened from last year, still at 68% (about 193 million) after two decades of growth; weekly listening showed a small increase from 60% to 62%, with time spent listening rebounding from 15:12 to 16:14 after last year's decline. PANDORA was the online audio brand with greatest consumer awareness, with SPOTIFY, iHEARTRADIO, APPLE MUSIC, and AMAZON MUSIC next. But ranked by which services listeners used last week, SPOTIFY had a substantial lead on PANDORA.

Smartphone ownership increased after a few years of flat growth, but tablet ownership continued to decrease while smartwatch ownership has flattened out over the past three years; Smart speaker ownership accelerated, up from 27% to 33% in the last year, fueled by people who work at home, 49% of whom said they own a smart speaker, and a steady increase in the number of such devices in individual households.

In-car listening shrank due to the pandemic, but AM/FM radio maintained its lead in the car despite declining (81% to 75%); only podcasts showed in-car usage growth.

Podcasting's growth continued to be steady. Familiarity with the term "podcasting" rose from 75% to 78% (222 million); 57% said they have ever listened to a podcast (155 million) up from 55% last year and continuing steady growth. Monthly podcasting was up significantly, from 37% to 41% (116 million), increasing for both men and women and showing marked increases among 12-34s (49% to 56% saying they listened to a podcast in the last month). Weekly listening is up to 28%, or 80 million, up from 24% in 2020. Once again, the gender split among podcast listeners neared 50-50, and half of monthly podcast listeners fell into the 12-34 age group, with 29% among 35-54s and 21% 55+. The audience is also growing in diversity. U.S. weekly podcast listeners averaged eight podcast episodes and 5.1 individual podcast shows in the last week.

The study also looked at other content, with audiobooks roughly flat from last year (and down from a peak two years ago) and continued growth seen in watching or playing live-streamed video games (with a significant increase among female viewers). Social media usage rose slightly from 80% to 82%, with FACEBOOK in the lead and INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, SNAPCHAT, and TWITTER next, but TIKTOK surging in growth; FACEBOOK declined among 12-34s, well behind INSTAGRAM, but FACEBOOK dominated in other demographics. Asked which social media brand they use most often, FACEBOOK led, but for the first time, did not represent a majority; FACEBOOK remained dominant among older demographics.

« see more Net News