New research carried out by Red C for IAB Ireland’s Digital Audio Council shows that 2.53m Irish adults (71%) listen to digital audio in an average week in 2020. This is up by 9% on the comparable figure for 2019.
According to the Red C research, which is called “Listen Up Ireland 2020,” the average listening time increased by 3 hours per week to 16.6 hours. For those in the 25-34-year cohort, the increase was 8.5 hours while for those aged between 45 and 54, it was 6.9 hours.
The research also shows that the growth in consumption was across all digital audio formats including Podcasts (+33%), Online Radio (+32%), On Demand Music (+31%).
According to the research, 51% are consuming more podcasts than they did a year ago with 25% expecting to increase that further in the next 12 months. A similar behaviour can be seen with online radio and music with 44% listening more than a year ago and 23% expecting to increase that further in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, the number of Irish adults with access to a smart home speaker has doubled to 1m, according to Red C.
“Listen Up Ireland 2020 sees digital audio consumption becoming more mainstream with older age groups now also recording strong growth as well as the heavy usage in younger audiences,” says Sara Eslami, associate director, Red C.
The research was launched at IAB’s Connect H2 digital advertising conference this week and provides a rich source of data for planning and buying digital audio.
According to Rob Timony, chairperson of IAB Ireland’s Digital Audio Council: “Digital audio has developed significantly as an advertising medium in the last 12 months here in Ireland. We are delighted to see 9% growth in users to 2.53 million adults in 2020 and the 18% growth in weekly consumption to 16.6 hours per person reflects the strength of digital audio as a channel in the Irish market. With more listeners discovering new music and spoken word content via digital audio, the medium is in an exciting place as we move into 2021.”
