{"id":44974,"date":"2020-08-22T07:25:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T11:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=44974"},"modified":"2020-08-22T07:25:58","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T11:25:58","slug":"npr-listeners-shift-from-over-the-air-radio-to-streaming-content-in-a-very-big-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/npr-listeners-shift-from-over-the-air-radio-to-streaming-content-in-a-very-big-way\/","title":{"rendered":"NPR listeners shift from over-the-air radio, to streaming content (in a very big way)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, William Lee who shares the following story via Nieman Labs.<\/a> Note that this is an excerpt from the story and that my comments follow:<\/p>\n

\n

Radio listening has plummeted. NPR is reaching a bigger audience than ever. What gives?<\/h1>\n

This year, for the first time, NPR will make more money from underwriting on podcasts than on its radio shows.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the pandemic took hold in the United States, NPR\u2019s radio ratings have taken a nosedive. Half of AM\/FM listening in the United States takes place in a car, but between reduced (or eliminated) commutes and social distancing, there\u2019s been\u00a0a steep decline<\/a>\u00a0in the drivers that make up public radio\u2019s traditional broadcast audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who listened to NPR shows on the radio at home before the pandemic by and large still do,\u201d NPR\u2019s own media correspondent,\u00a0David Folkenflik<\/a>,\u00a0reported on July 15<\/a>. \u201cBut many of those who listened on their commute have not rejoined from home. And that threatens to alter the terrain for NPR for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as its legacy platform\u2019s audience has declined, though, NPR says it is reaching more people than ever. The dip in radio listenership \u2014 22 percent \u2014 has coincided with a record number of people turning to NPR on virtually every other platform. More people than ever are reaching NPR through the website, apps, livestreams, and smart speakers (\u201cAlexa, I want to listen to NPR\u201d).<\/p>\n

[…]Some of the changes in NPR\u2019s audience mirror what we\u2019ve seen elsewhere in the news industry \u2014\u00a0traffic to news sites spiked in the early months of the pandemic<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 but the pandemic\u2019s long-term effects seem poised to have a unique impact on radio listenership.<\/p>\n

NPR\u2019s senior director of audience insights, Lori Kaplan,\u00a0has said<\/a>\u00a0public radio\u2019s audience includes a disproportionate percentage of workers who are able to do their jobs remotely during coronavirus shutdowns \u2014 and that these professionals are interested in continuing to work from home even after we\u2019ve left coronavirus in the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re experiencing a sea change,\u201d Kaplan\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Folkenflik. \u201cWe\u2019re not going back to the same levels of listening that we\u2019ve experienced in the past on broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

[…]NPR\u2019s leaders have been reading the tea leaves. They\u2019ve seen the studies showing younger generations overwhelmingly use the internet and their phones (not radios) for audio. In other words, they knew this shift was coming. They just didn\u2019t know it would happen all at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so clear people\u2019s behaviors were changing,\u201d said\u00a0Tamar Charney<\/a>, who leads NPR\u2019s digital strategy. \u201cYou\u2019d look at the demographic trends and young people were not listening to radio like older people.\u201d[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continue reading the full story at Nieman Labs.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a fascinating report and I’m willing to bet NPR has nothing to lose by being open about listening numbers and platforms compared to some commercial networks.<\/p>\n

I’ve spoken with a number of friends in the commercial radio industry and the story is very familiar: since the pandemic especially, less people use over-the-air radio to listen to programming. The majority of over-the-air radio listening is done in the car and with the C-19 pandemic, there’s simply been less driving and commuting.<\/p>\n

We radio enthusiasts are unique compared with our neighbors in that we actually have radios in our homes.<\/p>\n

There is a trend, though, above and beyond anything pandemic related and it’s hard to ignore: with the proliferation of mobile Internet devices that anyone and everyone carries on their person, consumers prefer and expect<\/em> on-demand content.\u00a0 If you have a radio show on an FM station and it’s not offered as a podcast or via one of the streaming networks, you could be missing out on the bulk<\/em> of your potential audience.<\/p>\n

Even though I’m a hard-core radio enthusiast (by pretty much any measure), I appreciate on-demand content. For example, my staple evening news show these days is Marketplace<\/a>. I prefer listening to the show live at 18:00 local on WCQS (88.1 FM) even though the signal isn’t super strong at my home (fortunately, I’ve got some brilliant radios to pull it in!). At least half of the time, however, family plans intrude on that 18:00-18:30 time slot, so I rely on the Marketplace podcast version of the show which is typically posted thirty minute after the end of their live show. So even though I’m a radio enthusiast, I still rely on streaming content for my favorite news show.<\/p>\n

As technology and listener habits shift, I do wonder how local radio stations will adapt.<\/p>\n

We’ve a number of SWLing Post<\/em> community members who work in the radio industry around the world. Feel free to chime in and comment<\/a> with your thoughts and experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, William Lee who shares the following story via Nieman Labs. Note that this is an excerpt from the story and that my comments follow: Radio listening has plummeted. NPR is reaching a bigger audience than ever. What gives? This year, for the first time, NPR will make more money […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,56,3781,3],"tags":[625,1384,274,8764,20,8763,6422],"class_list":["post-44974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-broadcasters","category-fm","category-news","tag-am-radio","tag-fm-radio","tag-national-public-radio","tag-nieman-labs","tag-npr","tag-radio-listenership","tag-william-lee"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bHo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16923,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/npr-european-pirate-radio-network-broadcasts-alternative-to-syrias-state-media\/","url_meta":{"origin":44974,"position":0},"title":"NPR: European Pirate Radio Network Broadcasts Alternative To Syria’s State Media","author":"Thomas","date":"January 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: NPR) A non-profit organization in Berlin has invented a small portable transmitter that can download satellite signals and rebroadcast them on FM for Syrians to listen to on their car or household radios. If this story sounds familiar, it's because\u00a0we posted something about the organization a few weeks ago.","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pocket-FM-Diagram-Berlin-Syria-Syrnet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Pocket-FM-Diagram-Berlin-Syria-Syrnet.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Pocket-FM-Diagram-Berlin-Syria-Syrnet.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Pocket-FM-Diagram-Berlin-Syria-Syrnet.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Pocket-FM-Diagram-Berlin-Syria-Syrnet.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42297,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/radio-waves-first-microprocessors-ocean-fm-swl-interviews-and-nprs-take-on-all-digital-am\/","url_meta":{"origin":44974,"position":1},"title":"Radio Waves: First Microprocessors, Ocean FM, SWL Interviews, and NPR’s take on All-Digital AM","author":"Thomas","date":"March 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019sRadio Waves, a collection\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Soviet-Radio-Dial-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Soviet-Radio-Dial-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Soviet-Radio-Dial-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30342,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/radio-deal-c-crane-ccradio-2-at-npr-shop\/","url_meta":{"origin":44974,"position":2},"title":"Radio Deal: C. Crane CCRadio 2 at NPR Shop","author":"Thomas","date":"January 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kevin Turinsky, who notes that NPR is having a \"final\" clearance sale on the excellent C. Crane CCRadio-2. The price is $110.11 US plus shipping. Click here to view the CCRadio 2 on the NPR Shop.","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CCRadio-2-at-NPR-Shop.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CCRadio-2-at-NPR-Shop.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CCRadio-2-at-NPR-Shop.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/CCRadio-2-at-NPR-Shop.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22917,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/npr-almost-certainly-the-tiniest-radio-receiver-in-the-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":44974,"position":3},"title":"NPR: “almost certainly, the tiniest radio receiver in the world”","author":"Thomas","date":"December 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: NPR) Physicists at Harvard have built a radio receiver out of building blocks the size of two atoms. It is, almost certainly, the tiniest radio receiver in the world. And since it's a radio, it can play whatever you want to send its way, including Christmas music, as this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Tiny-Radio-Harvard.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Tiny-Radio-Harvard.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Tiny-Radio-Harvard.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":879,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/nprs-bob-boilen-on-radio-listening\/","url_meta":{"origin":44974,"position":4},"title":"NPR’s Bob Boilen on radio listening","author":"Thomas","date":"October 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I like Bob's contemporary take on radio listening. 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So while I\u2019m\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/BobBoilen-300x239.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27669,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/today-national-radio-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":44974,"position":5},"title":"Today: National Radio Day","author":"Thomas","date":"August 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who notes that today is National Radio Day: (Source: National Radio Day) About National Radio Day is a time to honor one of the most longstanding electronic media and its role in our everyday lives. 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