According to a recent Nielsen survey, most Americans (83%) are listening to radio as much as, or more than, they did before the Covid-19 pandemic. but a shift has been happening, to streaming and on-demand listening via mobile devices and smart speakers.
This information is being publicized by digital audio tech company WideOrbit in a blog post. WideOrbit’s internal metrics show a nine percent increase in total listening hours from February to March, with the News category receiving the most love — 20% increase.
WideOrbit also consulted with its mobile app partner AirKast, which specializes in building mobile apps for radio stations, and AirKast confirmed the listener shift. Michael Fischer is AirKast’s EVP of Business Development: “From February 2020 to March 2020 we saw a 4.8% increase in mobile streaming sessions and a 1.8% increase in Alexa smart speaker activity from our network or stations. April saw the biggest jump, with smart speaker sessions increasing by just over 15%.”
In this blog post WideOrbit emphasizes that many advertisers are continuing their radio campaigns, but changing the messages.