The Media Leader Future of Audio conference was a couple of weeks ago in London and it provided some key insights and takeaways moving forward in 2024 and beyond…

Here are our key takeaways from the conference

📲UK Adults spend 3 hours 41 minutes online per day – 70% spent via mobile devices. Source IPSOS

23% of UK online adults have already used ChatGPT

Bing’s monthly reach has surged since the introduction of BingAI to 46% in May ‘23

📻 Radio (linear and DAB) accounts for 47% of total audio listenership. Digital Audio also happens to account for 47% of audio listenership. Source RAJAR Midas

📶 One third of live radio listening is via a connected device. Source RAJAR Midas

YouTube is the number 1 destination for Gaming. Over half of under 14s follow at least one gaming Influencer. Source: Ampere analysis

Snapchat surprises with over half of 18-24 year olds using Snapchat daily

How to make sure audio stays on plan?

➡️ Reinforce the fact it has all the strength of the powerhouse that is radio + net new reach + new content + data

➡️ Improve measurement and addressability

➡️ Creative agencies embracing its potential more fully, it needs to be a component part of more creative sets

➡️ More coordinated industry body work – BARBs recent inclusion of streaming and video sharing platforms is instructive

➡️ Need for more complementary case studies – how TV and Audio, Social and Audio work together

🎧 Podcasts are winning in the attention and loyalty stakes because they engage us on a deeper level

🎧Successful podcasts have become experience, even culture brands. The most successful ones live right across the entertainment spectrum from pods to social to video to live events to merchandise

🏠 42% of homes have a smart speaker. 57% share of smart speaker listening is to radio and 36% is to Streamed music

🎵 The top 2 weekly All Adult audio types are music radio at 61% followed by music streaming at 52%. Source: Ofcom Audio Survey 2024

📺 Uk traditional TV viewing sees record decline as older audiences join shift to streaming

This decline has been more than made up for in daily minutes viewed – 2023 Vs 2015 – owing to growth in SVOD and video sharing platforms eg. TikTok. Source: IPA Touchpoints

45% of YouTube viewing is on TV – growth of 50% in three years to 2023 – as YT looks to conquer living room

So what is the right content mix for retaining audiences in TV land? And that is a big question