More people in the US are listening to digital audio, and those who already do are spending more time listening.
In 2022, 74.0% of US internet users, or 222.7 million people, listened to digital audio. That’s two-thirds of the US population, and as such there is not much room left for substantial penetration growth.
Growth in the coming years will be slow. By 2026, the share of the US population listening to digital audio will rise by just 1.6 percentage points, for a total of 234.2 million.
For comparison, 18.9 million more people watched OTT video in 2022 on a monthly basis. In 2026, 21.0 million more people will be watching OTT video than listening to digital audio.
But time spent is increasing rapidly among existing listeners. In H1 2022, US internet users spent an average of 1 hour, 56 minutes per day streaming music, up 12 minutes from the previous year, according to data from GWI. US internet users also spent an average of 58 minutes listening to podcasts. Combined, the resulting 2 hours, 54 minutes is nearly even with the average amount of time spent watching broadcast TV daily, which still accounts for the largest share of US internet users’ time spent with media.
US internet users spend more time listening to digital audio than they do streaming video, using social media, or playing video games. Their ability to listen to music while doing something else plays a significant role. Music complements and accompanies people’s activities more than many other types of media.
At Lyles Media we help clients create a progamming plan that sticks out with intent that connects locally and is relevant. The programming job is to inspire and nurture the local human spirit- one person, one hit song and one neighborhood at a time. When all the station elements are connected, you score in Nielsen. Reach out and let’s start a conversation. You can email us or give us a call at (770) 594.7171. We’d love to hear from you.
You must be logged in to post a comment.