Pew Research released its annual Public Broadcasting Fact Sheet, offering data glimpses into key listening and finance metrics. Highlights:
The weekly audience for the combined top 20 NPR-affiliated stations has dropped by three million since 2017, and one million from 2021 to 2022.
Even as listening has dropped, the number of public stations has remained steady for about 10 years, at 1,066 stations.
Digital distribution by device is stunningly dominated by NPR News playing on iPhones. The NPR One app claims a negligible share of app listening.
On the revenue side, NPR’s total earning has been generally marching upward from 2015 through 2022, reaching $316M. Along with that, though, individual giving and underwriting suffered a drop coinciding with Covid, after an upward trajectory lasting more than 10 years.
There’s more to this data wrap-up; see the Pew Research Public Broadcasting Fact Sheet HERE.
