Britain’s over-35s are spending more time listening to radio but 15-24 year olds are switching off in favour of internet music services.
That’s according to a new Ofcom study which shows that the UK population listened to an average of 22.5 hours of radio each week in 2011 – a 24-minute increase compared to 2010.
But 15-24 year olds only listened to 17 hours of radio per week – representing a 22% fall in 10 years – and 25 to 34-year-olds only listened to 19.3 hours compared to 22.7 in 2001.
Overall, radio accounts for 26% less “share of ear” for 15-18 year olds than for all adults combined.
Ofcom cited a higher usage of internet services such as Spotify to Soundcloud, as well as the popularity of MP3 players, as the reasons for younger generations turning off their radios.
While radio accounted for 82% of the time adults spent listening to audio, it only represented 56% of time among those in their late teens.
The research also suggested that the success of Radio 4 could be a reason behind radio’s ageing listenership.
“Spotify remains the most popular online streaming service,” said Ofcom. "It continues to command the highest unique audience of online streaming with year-on-year growth of 24 per cent.”
Via The Daily Mail
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