New Study Shows Radio Can Significantly Benefit from Time-Shifting Content
The study concluded that there is a profound appetite for time-shifted radio content among radio listeners – notably, highly monetizable and younger audiences – and that opportunities are currently untapped as awareness of the availability of time-shifted radio content among listeners remains low.
A new study conducted by Futuri Media and Nielsen, “The Profound Need for Time-Shifted Radio Content for the Radio Business,” finds that time-shifting content, which revolutionized the TV industry years ago, now offers major opportunities for the radio industry, with high consumer interest, but low consumer awareness.
As noted in a piece in Inside Radio, “Conducted by Nielsen and Futuri Media, the study finds that half of respondents say they will listen to time-shifted audio while a high percentage are willing to share audio content they access on social media channels with their friends.” More key takeaways from the extensive study, which had a sample comprised of 602 individuals that listened to radio content for at least one hour over the past week. include:
- More than half of radio listeners 18+ would listen to short audio clips on social media. Among that group, nearly 8 in 10 would listen to time-shifted clips of radio station content.
- Younger audiences and heavy radio users, leaning male, are the sweet spot for time-shifted radio content.
- Station websites and mobile apps matter as much as social media.
- Listeners who are interested in time-shifted radio content want to interact with your station.
- P1s engage with time-shifted radio content even when not listening.
- Radio has yet to actualize its potential in the time-shifted space.
The study also found that stations using Futuri’s podcasting, on-demand, and digital audio management system, POST, to produce time-shifted radio content see higher ratings and revenue than non-users. A Nielsen analysis of minute-level PPM data compared against POST server logs shows that AM/FM outlets who produce time-shifted radio content using POST get 3x more time-shifted listening on average within 24 hours of the original broadcast than stations not using POST. This number goes up to 8.4x higher time-shifted minutes for listeners aged 18-49 and 5.4x for the 25-54 range.
A complete white paper on the study, which includes more key takeaways, insights developed from the survey data, and tips on developing a strong time-shifting strategy, is available for free download at futurimedia.com/timeshiftedaudio.
