Sabina Usher, communications strategist, MullenLowe Mediahub
These results confirm that radio continues to capture the hearts and minds of millions daily. The big win is for commercial stations continuing their ascent over their BBC counterparts with big growth stories for both linear listening as well as soaring digital properties.
Whilst traditional channels innovate to match consumer consumption behaviours, these results reinforce a wider theme – traditional channels are by no means dead and that investment in quality talent and content will see consumers follow, offering an enduringly strong proposition to advertisers looking to speak directly to the ears of millions’
Liz Duff, head of media and investment, Total Media
With commercial radio listening up and outperforming the BBC, it’s clear that brands now have an opportunity more than ever to talk directly into the ear of the customer. From a behavioural planning perspective, podcast and radio listeners are among the most engaged audiences brands can reach, as they choose to listen to content that best matches their passions and interests.
Digital continues to grow and it is shifting the way that people are listening to audio, which means there are ever increasing opportunities to talk to customers in their own language.
LBC has seen a 17% year on year increase in listeners, which reflects the fact that people want to listen to opinion led content as well as music and sport. This demonstrates the fact that people turn to audio to gain new insights as well as to pursue long standing interests.
The continuing rise in radio also bodes well for voice activation as people listen to as well as scroll through content.
