MORE COVID-19 CHANGES: DIGITAL NOW LEADS TRADITIONAL MEDIA • CLASSICAL MUSIC STATION RATINGS FOR 10 DIARY MARKETS

According to Edison Research’s Share of Ear study for the second quarter of 2020, time spent listening to audio on digital devices is now larger than time spent listening to audio on traditional devices.

Digital device listening grew from 45% in the January – March 2020 quarter to 53% in the April – June quarter.

Laura Ivey, Edison’s Director of Research, said it was first time digital surpassed non-digital sources since Share of Ear began in 2014.  

 Ivey said in a press release that lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic were the reason for the change:

“Digital surpassing non-digital was almost inevitable, according to the slow trend we saw in Share of Ear. It appears that these disruptions may have just accelerated the process. We will have to wait to see if the numbers revert more closely to what they were before the disruptions.”

Traditional, non-digital devices include AM and FM radios, SiriusXM receivers. Turntables, CD players, and TV-delivered music channels.

Attention now turns to the 2020 PRPD/Jacobs Media Public Radio Tech Survey (PRTS 2020) to see if the impact of the pandemic changed the audio consumption behavior of core public radio listeners.

Fred Jacobs teased the release of PRTS 2020 in a recent blog post:

“PRTS 2020 comes out of the field on Monday [7-20], so that is why you see those ominous question marks for the new survey.   It appears this trend will continue – if not accelerate when this year's results [are released.”

The percentage of digital listening has grown in every PRTS since 2013. In the 2019 PRTS, 31% of the respondents said that in a typical week, they listen to public radio content on digital devices and platforms such as computers, mobile devices, NPR apps, podcasts and smart speakers.

It is anticipated that the results of PRTS 2020 will be announced at the Let’s Go Live! virtual conference September 21 -24.

LISTENERS IN DIARY MARKETS ARE LISTENING TO MORE CLASSICAL MUSIC RADIO THAN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC

According to Nielsen Audio, the average-quarter-hour (AQH) shares for nine full-time Classical music stations in 10 markets were larger in June 2020 than during the most recent pre-Covid period.

The data is from markets where Nielsen uses Diary methodology. In some Diary markets, Nielsen provides monthly ratings. Listening in other Diary markets is reported twice per year in the spring and fall.

Results for Diary markets are released by Nielsen on weekdays until mid-August. The numbers in the chart on the left are from the first three batches of data released by Nielsen.

In seven of the 10 markets, Classical music stations increased their AQH share in June 2020 compared the most recent pre-Covid survey period. Two stations had a smaller AQH share in June 2020.  The AQH share for one station, KWTU in Tulsa, was the same.

The best performance was by Vermont Public Radio’s Classical channel in Burlington.