Radio Ink - Radio's Premier Management & Marketing Magazine

November 3, 2009: A study conducted by the Center for Research Excellence in five DMAs -- Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Seattle -- found that radio was the leading audio medium (excluding TV audio), reaching 77 percent of adults in the survey every day, with 109 average minutes of listening.

CDs and taped music and other audio came in second, reaching 37.1 percent of those surveyed. Coming in third was portable audio such as iPods and other MP3 players, with 11.6 percent daily reach among all adults -- but the portable players did a lot better among 18-34s, reaching 20.8 percent, with single people (18.5 percent), and with the more "technology-savvy" (18.2 percent). Also, even among the iPod users, broadcast radio reached 81.6 percent and picked up 97 minutes of daily listening.

Downloaded audio played over the computer reached 10.4 percent of respondents, and streamed digital audio reached 9.3 percent. Audio played on mobile phones made up a "very small portion" of audio exposure, the CRE said, reaching less than 2 percent of adults in the study.

The unusual study involved observers accompanying and watching the participants for two full waking days -- generally on the same day of the week in both instances -- and recording the participants' media exposure. The final sample added up to 752 observed days. The CRE points out that the participants represented "a good mix of respondents," but notes that the data was not weighted to reflect either national or DMA-level demographics.

The CRE's minutes of listening came in somewhat lower, the report points out, than what's typically reported in ratings, and says that may be due to several factors, including the fact that the data were not weighted to match population parameters. Also, the broadcast estimates don't include Internet radio, some of the participants may have taken a day off work so as not to have to bring the observer along, and some respondents may have changed their listening habits while driving with the observer in the car.