SYDNEY — Edison Research has released its second Australian study of the digital audio, social media, mobile, smart speaker and podcast habits of Australians, reports bandt.com.au.
The Australian Infinite Dial Study, commissioned by Commercial Radio Australia, Southern Cross Austereo via their PodcastOne subsidiary and Triton Digital, provides updated insights into what media Australians are consuming, and was conducted in the first quarter of 2018 using a survey of 1009 people via mobile phones and landlines, of Australians aged 12 and older.
[Compare this information with the 2018 study of heavy radio listeners.]
Key Australian Infinite Dial findings include:
- Radio is the leading audio platform consumed by Australians with 88% of people having listened to an AM/FM or DAB+ station in an average week (up from 85% AM/FM in 2017).
- In just 17 months, awareness of the Australian radio industry’s free RadioApp is at 15%, compared to the long-established TuneIn at 20% and iHeartRadio at 37%.
- Radio listening is strong in vehicles — 89% of people (over 18 years) having listened to AM/FM radio in the car in the last month.
- 13% of Australians have listened to a podcast in the last week, with 16% of 25-54 year olds listening to a podcast weekly.
- Social media usage by Australians is up 2% to 82% in 2018, with 94% of 12-24 year olds using some form of social media.
- Smartphone ownership in Australia continues to outstrip the US with 90% of Australians owning a smartphone and the 25-54 year olds have the highest ownership at 96%.
- In Australia the smart-speaker Google Home has 61% awareness, compared to Amazon Alexa at 28%. Smart speaker ownership is 5% in Australia compared to the USA at 18%.
“It’s an exciting time for radio in Australia. Audio innovation and development across the world has provided radio with another way of reaching audiences, whether it is via a traditional AM/FM radio, on a DAB+ device, via a podcast or on a smart speaker,” said CRA chief executive officer Joan Warner, quoted in the same article. “Australian radio listeners interact with their radio station across social media, on the mobile and in the car. The Edison Study is an essential tool informing the industry on the technology habits of Australians.”
