In the newly released new TechSurvey 2024, Jacobs Media ambitiously surveyed over 31,000 participants. As ever with this annual effort, most respondents were members of radio station databases — P1 radio consumers. The survey population was weighted using Nielsen 2023 market population data.
Jacobs Media derives 16 key findings from the 89-page public report.
Listening More
Radio is holding its own. “Local vibe” is an important reason, though in the middle of a pack of reasons. The #1 reason given for loyalty to AM/FM is “Easiest to listen to in the car. Thus, broadcast radio continues to enjoy the ease-of-use advantage of being embedded in a living space. NOt to say that listeners are oblivious to the content; music is a leading reason for habitual listening … but attachment to the DJs outranks music, 61% to 57%. — 17 The attachment has been holding steady since 2019, as the very interesting chart below indicates:
The connection of listener to DJ is especially pronounced in the Gen Z and Millennial cohorts.
Listening Less
The primacy of in-car listening is emphasized when the questioning is reversed: Why are some P1 people listening to less radio? Diversifying music sources is the main reason (See below), and spending less time in the car affects 40% of respondents. “Lifestyle change” is a vague reason, and “Too many commercials” motivate 36% of P1 listeners to back away.
AI
Artificial Intelligence gets mainly bad reviews in this survey. “There is a High Level of Alarm […] Most are highly concerned about AI’s potential to influence the 2024 elections,” the report summarizes. Listeners have “major concerns” over AI replacing human on-air personalities.
This extensive and detailed report dives deep into details of audience attributes and radio programming particulars. Its 89 pages cannot be summarized with justice; we strongly encourage downloading the deck HERE.
PS — Radio and audio professionals offer their personal takeaways from TechSurvey on the Jacobs Media blog.
