Report: Local Radio Reaches All Demo Groups

RADIO ONLINE | Saturday, July 2, 2016

The audiences attracted to local radio certainly have many more options to choose from for entertainment and information, yet local stations are still an important part of the mix of services used by all different demographic groups, according to BIA/Kelsey's State of the Industry report. Local radio reaches a wide swath of different demographic groups for significant amounts of time, while also evident are the considerable differences in the amount of time groups spend listening to local stations.

The report says that Millennials listen 26.1 percent less and Generation X 10 percent less than Boomers as these two younger demographic groups access other sources for entertainment and information. One of the uses of local stations by all demographic groups is music discovery.

While many have their own music playback devices and/or subscribe to satellite and online streaming services, local stations provide a venue for listeners to hear new music says the BIA/Kelsey report. According to a recent nationwide survey, AM/FM radio was tied for the highest ranked source used for keeping up to date with music.

While AM/FM radio was found by the report tied as the highest ranked source, it was cited as being used most for keeping up to date with music at 28 percent vs. 23 percent for friends/family. Still, that lofty position is under attack as there was a decrease from 75 percent to 68 percent citing AM/FM radio at all in just the past two years.

Local stations have seen a slight decrease in the number of listeners who cite it as a source of audio entertainment and/or information in the automobile, while owned digital music and online radio saw substantial increases. Still it is ranked number one among the sources and is cited by 53 percent of respondents as the audio source they use "most or almost all of the times."