RAJAR: 20% of smartphone owners have downloaded a radio app

New RAJAR figures reveal that 20% of smartphone owners, or 1.4 million people, have downloaded a radio app.

The RAJAR Measurement of Internet Delivered Audio Services (MIDAS 6) was conducted during June 2010 by Ipsos MORI.

The sample comprised RAJAR respondents drawn from the main RAJAR survey who had claimed to listen to the radio via the internet, or downloaded podcasts, or listened to the radio via their mobile phone. The survey findings are based on 1,083 respondents.

Christel Lacaze, research manager, RAJAR, said: “The latest MIDAS survey allows us to track the changing behaviour of people who use their mobile phones to listen to the radio.

“With smartphones fast growing their market share, a greater number of mobile phone owners are able to listen to the radio via their phone using a mobile internet connection rather than an FM signal, giving them access to richer content on the go.”

The survey found that:

• 31% of adults claim to have ever listened to the radio via the internet, including 29% who have listened live (up from 27% in November 2009) and 25% who have used time-shifted listening (using Listen Again services, up from 23%).
• 71% of those Listen Again listeners said the service has no impact on the amount of live radio to which they listen; while half said they are now listening to radio programmes to which they did not listen previously. The average user of Listen Again services listened to just under 2 programmes in this way in the previous week.
• Awareness of Personalised Online Radio (POR) increased from 14% of Adults 15+ to 17% while the number of users of such services has increased from 8% to 11%. 6% claim to use POR at least once a week.
• 15% have heard of WiFi radio (a standalone radio set that connects wirelessly to the internet and is able to play any internet radio service) but only 2% claimed to own one.
• 13%* of adults 15+ have ever listened to the radio via mobile phone. Of those, 54% select the station using specific FM preset and 14% run an app for a specific radio station.
• 20% of smartphone owners on the Midas survey (or 1.4 million) have downloaded a radio app and, of those, over half (53%) use their radio apps at least once a week.

RAJAR yesterday announced the appointment of Jerry Hill as its new CEO, succeeding Sally de la Bedoyere, who stepped down at the beginning of June.