Key findings from the Infinite Dial Australia 2021 study confirm that Australians are increasingly embracing digital audio. Strong growth in podcast and smart speaker listening highlight consumers’ appetite to explore new audio content and device options, whilst continuing to engage with longstanding forms of audio, such as radio. 

The fifth annual Infinite Dial Australia survey was conducted by Edison Research from January – March 2021 using a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians aged 12+ in metropolitan and regional Australia.  The research was commissioned by major sponsor CRA, with additional support from LiSTNR (a subsidiary of SCA) and Triton Digital.

2021 topline findings:

• Radio (live and on-demand) overwhelmingly remains the most dominant audio content
• 86% of Australians listen to live radio or catch-up radio podcasts each month, up from 85% last year
• Radio’s weekly reach across broadcast and online platforms has remained stable at 80%
• For radio listeners that tune in online, 46% listen on station websites; followed by station apps (44%); aggregator apps/websites (38%); and podcasts (23%)
• Online audio reaches nearly three quarters (74%) of Australians each month, up from 67% last year
• Two thirds (66%) of Australians are reached by online audio each week, up from 63% last year
• Time spent listening to online audio remains steady at 12 hours 11 minutes per week
• Awareness of podcasting has increased to 91%, up from 87% last year
• Podcast listening has surged, with 37% confirming they have listened to at least one podcast in the past month, up from 25% last year
• 26% of Australians listen to a podcast weekly or more often, up from 17% last year, and an all-time high
• Weekly podcast listeners tune into an average of five podcasts per week
• More than one quarter (26%) of Australians now own a smart speaker, a 53% increase in the past 12 months. For those who have adopted the technology, they own an average of 1.9 devices
• Google Nest is the market leading smart speaker brand, owned by 24% of Australians, followed by Amazon Alexa (3%) and Apple HomePod (1%).

For more information, please email Briony Lee or John Musgrove or call 02 9281 6577.

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