Despite the advent of satellite radio, Apple’s CarPlay, and Android Auto, but traditional AM/FM radio still dominates.
A new report by Edison Research shows that new isn’t always better, with AM/FM radio still accounting for the majority of drivers’ listening time. In fact, among drivers who DO NOT have CarPlay or Android Auto, 67% listen to AM/FM radio, compared to just 9% who listen to audio streaming services, 12% who listen to SiriusXM, and just 4% who listen to podcasts. Interestingly, legacy options, such as CDs, still account for 8% of drivers’ audio time.
Among drivers who do have CarPlay or Android Auto the situation changes, although traditional radio still has the largest percentage of listeners at 46%, although other audio options certainly benefit from CarPlay and Android Auto:
The bottom bar shows that those who do have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in their primary vehicles spend twice as much time streaming: 18% of their daily in-car audio time is spent streaming, compared with 9% of daily in-car audio time spent streaming by those without the systems. They also spend more of their daily in-car audio time with podcasts than listeners who don’t have the systems: 7% compared with 4%. Listeners who do have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto spend 46% of their time with AM/FM — 27% less than those who don’t have CarPlay or Auto.
Edison Research’s findings are interesting in demonstrating that traditional radio options still have wide appeal.