Radio World is taking an in-depth look at “The Infinite Dial UK 2021” report this week.
Welcome to Part Three of Radio World’s summation of Edison Research’s “The Infinite Dial UK 2021”. In this installment, online audio listening by U.K. consumers is the focus.
The data comes from Edison Research President Larry Rosen’s online webinar, which was held Dec. 2, 2021, to release the findings of “The Infinite Dial UK 2021” survey.
The report is based on 1,000 telephone interviews with U.K. residents 16 and older, during the fourth quarter of 2021.
[Read more of our coverage of the “Infinite Dial” report]
U.K. online audio listening
According to Rosen, “75 percent of people in the U.K. age 16 and older told us that they’ve listened to some form of audio online in the last month.”
This usage is relatively consistent across age groups, he noted. “It’s highest for 16–34, as you might expect, at 81 percent. But even for 55+, 72 percent of people said they’ve listened to some form of online audio in the month before we called them for this survey.”
The 35–54 age group clocked in at 74 percent.
Intriguingly, a higher percentage of U.K. 16+ consumers listened to online audio in the past month (75 percent) than did U.S. 16+ consumers (68 percent).
In fact, “the U.K. number is the highest of any of the four English-speaking countries [U.K., U.S., Australia and Canada] where we have this data,” Rosen said. Australia’s 16+ monthly online audio listenership rate was 73 percent, while in Canada (18+) it stood at 71 percent.
The U.K.’s weekly listenership to online audio was similarly strong — 66 percent for all listeners 16+. Again, the spread was relatively consistent among age groups: 72 percent for 16–34; 65 percent for 35–54; and 62 percent for 55+.
At 66 percent overall, the U.K.’s weekly 16+ online listenership rate tied with Australia’s 16+ rate. The U.S. 16+ rate was 62 percent, while Canada 18+ was 61 percent.
Overall, when it comes to online audio listening, “the adoption seems to be as high in the U.K. as in any other place that we’ve surveyed,” Rosen said.
In Part Four of Radio World’s summary of “The Infinite Dial UK 2021,” we’ll look at the U.K.’s consumption of in-car media.
Part 1: “First-Ever ‘Infinite Dial UK’ Survey Provides Insights for U.K. Radio”
Part 2: “‘Infinite Dial UK’ Details U.K. Radio Listening, Ownership”
Part 3: “‘Infinite Dial UK’ Digs into U.K. Online Audio”
Part 4: “‘Infinite Dial UK’ Looks at In-Car Media”
Part 5: “U.K. Likes Podcasts Finds ‘Infinite Dial UK’”
