Almost 12m Listen To Internet Radio

Almost 12 million people have listened to the radio via the internet, while 4.3 million have downloaded a podcast, according to new research from RAJAR.

The figures are from RAJAR’s first Podcasting and Radio Listening via Internet Survey, which was conducted last autumn by Ipsos Mori.

It found that In any given week, 8.1 million people listen to radio via the internet, either live or through a ‘listen again’ service, and 1.8 million listen to a podcast.

The typical podcast user subscribes to 3.16 podcasts and spends 53.6 minutes each week listening to them.

The research found that 58% of respondents would be interested in downloading podcasts if they were free but contained advertising, while only 28% responded positively to the idea of podcasts without ads that had to be paid for.

Podcast listening occurs throughout the day, the survey found, with an evening peak when 46% of podcast users are tuning in.

Paul Kennedy, research director, RAJAR, said: “This survey is very much a toe in the water. Although we already knew that Listen Again, Personalised Online Radio and podcasting had many advocates, we knew nothing of their standing in the mainstream.

“This survey tells us and our subscribers, who are actively involved in these areas, more about them.”

Last week, the Digital Radio Development Bureau revealed that one million DAB digital radios were bought in the fourth quarter of 2007, with more than 550,000 sold in December alone (see Strong Christmas Sales For Digital Radios).

According to the DRDB’s research, based on more than 14,000 DAB owners, 27% of owners have more than one DAB radio at home.

RAJAR figures for Q4 2007 are released on Thursday 31 January and NewsLine will be bringing you in-depth analysis of all the major stories.

RAJAR: 0207 292 9040 www.rajar.co.uk