Note To Radio Personalities Without A Podcast Strategy: Now’s The Time.

Inside Radio

Date: May 09, 2022

in: Radio, Social/Digital

When it comes to personality-based talk shows, podcasts have already achieved parity with AM/FM radio, according to a Westwood One analysis of Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” study. It also reports that both adults 18-34 and 25-54 spend more time with personalities/talk shows via podcast than on AM/FM.

Now, just-released research from Westwood One and MARU/Matchbox shows that among listeners of five nationally syndicated news/talk hosts, more than nine of ten listen to either the AM/FM radio program or the podcast, but not both.

“For AM/FM radio personalities, that means it is time to develop a podcast strategy,” Cumulus Media Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard says in the latest entry in Westwood One’s “Everyone’s Listening” blog. “Personality shows need a multi-platform strategy to capture sufficient shares of audio time spent.”

The Edison data, from fourth-quarter 2021, shows that 45% of time spent with ad-supported personalities/talk shows among persons 18+ is via podcasts, versus 43% on AM/FM radio, according to Bouvard’s analysis of the data.

Broken down by key demographics, the podcast share of ad-supported personalities/talk audio time spent is as high as 67% among adults 18-34 and 51% among adults 25-54, while its 40% among adults 35-64 rivals still-dominant AM/FM.

According to Westwood One’s analysis of MARU/Matchbox’s February 2022 survey of 1,500 U.S. adults 18+, based on listening behavior to five major conservative talk hosts including Sean Hannity and Mark Levin, anywhere from 91% to 94% listen to either the host’s AM/FM show or podcast, but not both. Additionally, hosts such as Dan Bongino, who launched first on podcast, show a higher share of audience listening only via podcast.

“Marketers who utilize both of a personality’s podcast and AM/FM radio platforms generate significant incremental reach as the vast majority of audiences only listen via one platform,” Bouvard says.

The Infinite Dial is based on a national telephone survey of 1,502 people aged 12 and older in both English and Spanish. Download the full study HERE.

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