New Report Shows How Commercial Broadcasters Lead the Way in Ad-Funded Audio
Radiocentre, in partnership with research consultancy MTM, has launched Speed of Sound, the most extensive guide to the UK鈥檚 ad-funded audio market to date. This comprehensive report highlights the scale of the audio advertising opportunity and emphasises the crucial role of broadcasters.
Combining robust industry data and interviews conducted with expert stakeholders from across media and advertising, this first-of-its-kind report provides clarity and understanding on the rapidly evolving ad-funded audio landscape in the UK, helping advertisers navigate the market and capitalise on its growth.
Growing audiences and revenues
Findings reveal the sector is thriving, with radio, podcasts and music streaming supported by advertising capturing the ears of over three-quarters (76%) of UK adults every week. This commercial audio market is also still expanding, adding an additional 5.3 million weekly listeners across the last six years.
Fuelling this expansion in ad-funded listening is the widespread adoption of connected devices - especially smart speakers - which have transformed how audiences engage with audio. Today, nearly half (44%) of the UK adult population (15+) listens to ad-funded connected audio each week.
Revenue growth mirrors this upwards trend, with a 5.5% year-on-year increase in the 12-months to Q3 2024, reaching 拢863.4 million.
Commercial broadcasters lead the way
The new report highlights the crucial role of commercial broadcasters in this market, due to the fact they provide access to almost 90% of commercial audio listening and represent an 86% share of commercial audio advertising revenue. This underscores that commercial broadcasters are essential for brands to unlock the advantages that audio can offer to advertisers.
The future is multi-platform audio
Beyond the new findings on the scale and role of commercial broadcasters, the research also provides evidence on the benefits of using a multi-platform approach to audio to amplify the impact for advertisers.
Specifically, it demonstrates the power of combining the proven strengths of traditional commercial radio with the additional benefits of targeted digital audio ads, helping advertisers to generate future demand and convert current demand. By putting this into practice, advertisers can develop multi-platform campaigns that deliver even better results.
Radiocentre CEO Matt Payton said, 鈥淎d-funded audio is evolving fast, so it can be challenging for advertisers to keep up, especially when faced with differing data from sources across the globe. The Speed of Sound report is the first comprehensive overview focused solely on the ad-funded audio market in the UK, backed up by reliable, credible data on total audience reach and revenue.
The report demonstrates that the audio advertising opportunity is bigger than ever and to unlock the best results, advertisers need to work with commercial broadcasters. They not only provide access to 90% of UK ad-funded listening hours, but also offer a valuable multi-platform audio approach that maximises reach and amplifies impact鈥.
Imogen Nightingale, senior consultant, MTM said, 鈥淭he findings and the evidence featured in this report will help provide clarity on the commercial audio market, explaining the role of broadcasters and outlining the benefits for advertisers.
At MTM we specialise in tackling difficult questions and providing trusted insight. Working with Radiocentre on this Speed of Sound report provided us with an opportunity to do just that, while reviewing the exciting digital innovation happening in commercial audio鈥.
Key takeaways:
1. The growth in ad-funded audio is a significant opportunity for advertisers: connected platforms are helping drive audience growth and listening, making it bigger and better than ever.
2. Broadcasters are crucial to unlocking the audio advantage: they lead the way and provide access to around 90% of commercial listening hours across radio, podcasts and streaming.
3. Using radio and digital audio together delivers more benefits: multi-platform audio delivers a bigger cumulative effect for advertisers in delivering both Demand Generation and Demand Conversion benefits.
4. Advertisers have an opportunity to put this learning into practice: the evidence, resources and best practice outlined in this report provides advertisers with the tools to make the most of digital innovation and accelerate their audio advantage.
Find the full report .
