Smart speakers and station apps fill in for disappearing in-home radios (Jacobs Media)

In a teaser posted in advance of this week’s All Access Audio Summit 2023, Jacobs Media reveals a bit of data from its upcoming annual TechSurvey.

As radios continue a long-term trend of disappearing from homes, radio listeners lean into smart speakers tuned into radio station streams, and dedicated station mobile apps. The two curves move toward each other over a seven-year timeline as shown below:

Important to note that TechSurvey represents a concentration of P1 radio listeners — the most engaged cohort of AM/FM listening.

“COVID clearly showed us how AM/FM radios have become less present in people’s homes,” Fred Jacobs noted in the All Access piece. “Now fewer than eight in ten have a working radio they use at home.  The good news for broadcasters is that smart speaker ownership and downloading one’s P1 station mobile app are sharply on the rise.”

The TechSurvey field work was conducted in January and February.


Brad Hill