New research carried out by Ipsos for Radiocentre Ireland, shows that the overall audio market, which includes radio and digital audio, is in a strong position, with 98% of adults listening a live radio station or some form of digital audio every week.
According to the Ipsos research, live radio is the dominant player reaching 92% of adults weekly while listening to on-demand audio (streaming services, podcasts) reaches 57% of the population each week. When it comes to share of listening, live radio dominates with a 74% share of total audio listening while on-demand audio has a 26% share.
The 2023 Irish Audio Report, also shows that Irish audiences are highly connected with a rapid growth in smart speaker ownership with 45% of adults now owning a smart speaker, up from 13% of all adults back in 2019. 92% of adults own a smartphone.
On an average day, in terms of time spent listening to audio, live radio has a 74% share of the audio market while on-demand audio has a 26% share, according to the Ipsos research.
Within on-demand audio, music streaming has a 12% share of listening while YouTube Music and Podcasts have a 7% and 3% share respectively. For the young 15- to 24-year-old age cohort, live radio accounts for 45% of total listening, followed by music streaming services with a 29% share, YouTube Music with 13% share and podcasts with a 3% share.
Within music streaming services, 67% of all adults pay a subscription to block out advertising. This means that when one looks at share of “commercial” audio for all adults, live radio commands an 88% share of all listening compared to a 3% share for music streaming services.
The Ipsos research also noted that most listening to audio content happens in the home with seven-in-ten (69%) having listened to audio at home yesterday. However, as the country has moved back outside of the home, there has been some increase in listening outside the home with 41% listened in the car yesterday and 11% listen to audio while out walking/cycling/running.
To download a copy of The 2023 Irish Audio Report from Radiocentre Ireland click HERE
