Edison Research’s “Share Of Ear” Q3 2020: AM/FM Radio Dominates Ad-Supported Media And In-Car Audiences Rebound
Edison Research recently released the Q3 2020 “Share of Ear” report, the media industry’s go-to for understanding how Americans consume audio each day. Released each quarter, “Share of Ear” quantifies the reach and time spent with all forms of audio.
Here are key findings:
Audio is pandemic proof as AM/FM radio continues to represent three-fourths of all ad-supported audio
Some predicted that the pandemic would cause major changes in media use. Comparing shares of ad-supported audio from Q3 2019 to Q3 2020 reveals little change. At a 76% share, AM/FM radio continues to dominate ad-supported audio.
Listening shifts from the home back to the car as COVID-19 restrictions lift in Q3
AM/FM radio is an on-the-go medium, reaching consumers close to the point of purchase. While the shelter-in-place mandates of earlier this year affected those in the car, “Share of Ear” data illustrates AM/FM radio’s recovery.
Before the pandemic, 32% of all audio time spent occurred in the car. During May’s COVID-19 shelter-at-home period, the in-car share of audio time spent dropped to 20%. In September, it recovered to 28%.
AM/FM radio reaches consumers on the road as Nielsen finds audiences recovering and an increase in time spent in the car
According to their latest consumer sentiment study released in October 2020, Nielsen finds daily time spent in the car has grown +81% from 36 minutes in May to 65 minutes in October. Among heavy AM/FM radio listeners, daily time spent in the car has doubled from an hour and six minutes a day to two hours and eleven minutes.
Audio in the car is solid with shares unchanged from Q3 2019
Not only has AM/FM radio’s share of in-car audio rebounded from earlier this year, it has remained virtually unchanged from Q3 2019. AM/FM radio’s share of ad-supported audio in the car remained dominant with an 87% share, higher ad-supported SiriusXM, podcasts, ad-supported Pandora, and ad-supported Spotify.
According to Nielsen, nearly 70% of average quarter-hour listening takes place out of the home
The latest Nielsen data for November 2020 in Portable People Meter markets confirms AM/FM radio’s dominance as an on-the-go medium. Among persons 18+, 67% of listening takes place out-of-home in Portable People Meter markets, nearly at March’s pre-pandemic level of 71%.