Somerville, NJ, June 26, 2023 – Findings from The Infinite Dial® 2023 Australia, a comprehensive study of audio listening behaviours from Edison Research, show growth in digital audio consumption, including podcasts and online radio, while radio remains strong.
The Australian Infinite Dial is commissioned by major sponsor Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA), with sponsors LiSTNR and Triton Digital®, Results were presented by Edison Research President Larry Rosin and Vice President Nicole Beniamini in a webinar earlier today.
Weekly listening to online AM/FM/DAB+ radio increases 80% year over year. Twenty-seven percent of Australians age 12+ have listened to online AM/FM/DAB+ radio in the last week, up from 15% in 2022.
Monthly and weekly podcast listening hits all-time highs. Forty-three percent of Australians age 12+ have listened to a podcast in the past month; 33% have listened to a podcast in the last week. Weekly listening among Australians is now higher than the U.S. One in ten Australians age 12+ listen to podcasts daily.
AM/FM DAB+ radio grows in-car along with digital sources. Eighty-four percent of Australians age 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month have listened to AM/FM/DAB+ radio in-car, up from 80% in 2022; 38% have listened to podcasts in-car, up from 32% in 2022, and 20% have listened to online AM/FM stations in-car, up from 16% in 2022.
Australia leads the U.S. when it comes to monthly online audio listening. Eighty-one percent of those age 12+ in Australia listened to online audio in the last month, a higher percentage than the U.S.
CRA Chief Executive Officer Ford Ennals said, “We welcome the 2023 Infinite Dial findings which confirm that audio listening in Australia is booming, led by exponential growth in digital audio listening and the continued growth in radio listening of digital formats including streaming radio and DAB+ radio. Australians are now the world’s biggest listeners of podcasts with 43% listening every month, surpassing the US for the first time. Significantly radio remains young audiences favourite form of audio with 76% listening every month. Radio also continues to lead on the move with 84% of people tuning into radio when they are in the car. “
Radio continues to exhibit strength as AM/FM/DAB+ radio reaches 17 million listeners per week. Seventy-nine percent of Australians 12+ are reached by AM/FM/DAB+ radio weekly, both over-the-air and online.
Dave Cameron, Chief Content Officer at SCA, which includes the LiSTNR digital audio network, a co-sponsor of The Infinite Dial 2023 Australia study said, “The Infinite Dial findings mirror what we are seeing at LiSTNR, with record radio audience numbers and record podcast listeners. Audience behaviour is definitively shifting at pace towards a streaming and on-demand world and the digital audio advertising market is growing at similar levels. It demonstrates the strength, engagement and powerful mobility that audio offers listeners on all platforms.”
Other key findings include:
Eighty-seven percent of monthly podcast listeners have listened to a podcast at home; 64% have listened in-car
Weekly podcast listeners listen to an average of five podcast episodes per week
Twenty-eight percent of Australians 12+ own a smart speaker, which is flat year over year
Half of Australians age 12-34 (50%) have used TikTok in the last week
This marks the seventh annual release of the study in Australia, and is part of the continued expansion of The Infinite Dial®. The study is the longest running survey of digital media consumer behaviour in U.S., and now includes surveys worldwide.
The Infinite Dial® survey, conducted in the first quarter of 2023, is a high-quality telephone and online survey and includes a nationally representative sample of 1,576 people in Australia age 12+: 750 interviews were conducted via telephone and 756 interviews were conducted online. The data is weighted to 12+ population figures.
About Edison Research
Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients worldwide, having conducted research in 66 countries. Edison Research’s The Infinite Dial® series has been the survey of record for digital audio, social media, podcasting, smart speakers, and other media-related technologies since 1998. The company’s Share of Ear® survey is the only single-source measure of all audio in the U.S. Edison Research is the leading podcast research company in the world, producing the only survey-based data on podcast listening in the U.S, Edison Podcast Metrics, and has conducted research for many companies in the space. Since 2004, Edison Research has been the sole provider of election data, race projections and analysis to the National Election Pool (ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News) for every presidential primary and general election.
