HBG Media Minute: Radio Listening Pre-Pandemic vs. Now
In a recent study conducted by Harker Bos Group, we found that 52% of people are listening more to the radio now than they did before the pandemic.
Two years on from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a drastic shift in radio listenership. We, at Harker Bos Group, are pleased to inform you of the positive nature of this shift. Conventional wisdom suggests that radio is on the outs, and that younger demographics are naturally drifting towards newer technologies like streaming, leaving radio in the dust. While this may be true on a certain level, the reality is that people are now listening to the radio more than they did before the pandemic – significantly more.
In the study we conducted between February and April 2022 with over 1,700 respondents (ages 18-44) from 10+ Markets, we asked the following question: “Compared to your listening habits before the pandemic, would you say that you now listen to the radio more, less, or the same amount?” The responses were not only surprising, but also painted a deeply optimistic picture of radio’s long-term health. Let’s look at the following graph:
Graph (below): Compared to your listening habits before the pandemic, would you say that you now listen to the radio more, less, or the same amount?
A whopping 52% of respondents listen more to the radio now than they did before the pandemic. Combined with those that listen the same amount to the radio, that is a positive retention of 86% of people. In other words, 86% of the of those we interviewed for this survey are, at minimum, listening the same amount of radio as they did before the pandemic really took root in the U.S.
These findings contradict the perception that the Covid-19 pandemic merely accelerated inevitable changes in the market, such as the mass migration to streaming platforms and social media. And yes, while those changes may be underway, radio might appear to be inoculated from the purported seismic shifts in the media landscape.
At Harker Bos Group, we speculate that not only are there more listeners for your station to capture than there were two years ago, there are unique branding opportunities to solidify and enhance your audience and advertising potential.
When everything went digital at the onset of the pandemic, budgets were cut. Resultantly, a lot of money that went towards driving listenership and engagement, such as contests, community events, advertising, sales, street teams, and marketing, dried up. Today, budgets are slowly inching towards pre-pandemic levels, as are ad revenues. However, what has been lost in the pajama era is a connection with your audience. Stations just do not know who is listening to their stations, and audiences are just not as connected to individual radio stations. There is a dearth of brand loyalty in radio listenership. This is a direct consequence of the pandemic, in which everyone had to alter their day-to-day behaviors.
The silver lining of all this is that with these higher levels of listenership, stations have a unique opportunity to grab listeners that were previously unreachable. With 52% of respondents listening more to the radio than they did before the pandemic, now would be the time to work on your branding and reach. All things that your station stopped doing when the pandemic hit – you need to do right now, and twice as hard. The listeners are literally there for the taking. If there was ever a time to establish your brand, then that would be today.
Study conducted between February and April 2022
- 1,700+ Respondents
- Ages 18-44
- 10+ Markets in the U.S.
This study is part of our a monthly Radio and Television research project called “HBG Media Minute”. It consists of monthly research studies that we conduct across the US and looks at between 500-2000 respondents in each study. We look forward to sharing our research each month at https://harkerbos.com/category/hbg-media-minute/.