At The Crossroads

©Jacobs Media 2015

• 54 public radio stations

• N = 19,730

• Interview dates: June 15-July 20, 2015

• Most respondents are members of station email databases. Some responses were gathered via the station’s website or social networking pages.

• All responses were collected online and weighted by market size.

• This is a web survey and does not represent all public radio listeners or each station’s total audience.

Methodology

Format Composition

Other 6%

AAA 12%

Classical 8%

AAA/News 1% Classical/News

6%

Jazz/News 2%

News/Talk 65%

Done

Done

Note: The stars represent areas of continued growth year to

year. In the case of Smart TV, this is its first appearance.

Done

Note: Weekly video streaming (gold stars) is higher than audio

streaming channels like Pandora, Spotify & TuneIn Radio.

AM/FM radio in home/work/school

34%

AM/FM radio in vehicle

44%

Computer Stream 7%

Mobile Stream 5%

Podcasts 3%

NPR Apps 4% Other

3%

Traditional: 78%

Digital: 19%

Done

Public radio continues to make the digital transition.

About one-fifth of weekly usage is on digital sources.

Traditional: 67%

Digital: 30%

AM/FM Radio home/work/school

13%

AM/FM radio in vehicle

54%

Computer Stream 10%

Mobile Stream 8%

Podcasts 7%

NPR Apps 6%

Other 2%

Gen Y

Done

Among public radio’s Millennials, 30% of consumption

occurs via digital channels and platforms.

87% 79%

84% 89% 89%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Gen Y Gen X Boomers Silent

1 Hour or More Under 1 Hour

Listenership to 1 hour of radio a day is solid across the

board, with the exception of lower levels among Gen Y.

“One of radio’s primary advantages is its local feel.”

Strongly disagree

2%

Disagree 5%

Neutral 21%

Agree 48%

Strongly agree 22%

DK 1%

59%

71%

78%

76%

70%

69%

68%

67%

72%

70%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Silent

Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Women

Men

News/Talk

Classical

AAA

Total

Agree + Strongly Agree

67%

Done

Local matters. More than two-thirds say

a key radio advantage is its local orientation.

“I have an inherent trust that public radio news efforts are not influenced by advertisers and businesses that sponsor them.”

Strongly Disagree

2%

Disagree 6% Neutral

12%

Agree 41%

Strongly agree 38%

DK 2%

81%

77%

80%

84%

80%

77%

83%

73%

70%

79%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Silent

Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Women

Men

News/Talk

Classical

AAA

Total

Agree + Strongly Agree

75%

Done

At the core of public radio news efforts is trust.

Nearly 8 in 10 PRTS7 respondents agree the

news is not influenced by sponsors or advertisers.

20%

24%

25%

26%

27%

29%

30%

38%

40%

40%

49%

52%

58%

65%

66%

68%

75%

78%

80%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Music surprises

On-demand programming

Discover new music/artists

Keeps me company

Like to work with radio

Gives me something to talk about

Needs my support

Music I don't hear anywhere else

In the habit

Local station helps connect me to the community

Calm presentation

Makes me smarter

Fewer ads than commercial radio

Respects my intelligence

Balance of perspectives

Like specific shows/hosts

Want deeper perspective into news

More credible & objective programming

Enjoy learning new things

Main Reason

Why public radio? Learning, credibility, objectivity, &

a deeper perspective into news top the list.

Past year on any device

More 17%

Less 8%

About the same –

a lot 64%

About the same – not a lot

11%

Done

Public radio has momentum. By a 2:1 margin, 17% say

they’ve listened to more public radio in the past year.

Public radio’s sustaining members tend to be younger.

Three-fourths of Millennial members are sustainers.

Among members

Gen Y Gen X

Boomers Silent

Yes 73%

No 26%

Yes 54%

No 46%

Yes 61%

No 37%

Yes 44% No

55%

When it comes to recommendation, public radio’s scores

remain stellar, although lower than in the past.

68 67 66 67 72 71

64

0

25

50

75

100

PRTS1 PRTS2 PRTS3 PRTS4 PRTS5 PRTS6 PRTS7

Done

“I find myself listening to more public radio on-demand.”

Nearly one-fourth of public radio listeners say they’re

listening to more content on-demand – especially Gen Y.

Strongly disagree

24%

Disagree 33%

Neutral 18%

Agree 15%

Strongly agree

8%

DK 2%

52%

55%

10%

20%

33%

49%

24%

21%

26%

12%

15%

23%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Downloaded NPROne

Podcasting Weekly

Silent

Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Women

Men

News/Talk

Classical

AAA

Total

Agree + Strongly Agree

Done

Among those who have downloaded the NPR One app,

more than a third use it weekly or more often.

Among those with smartphones/tablets who download radio/music apps, 8% have downloaded the NPR One app.

At least weekly

Daily 9%

Weekly 26%

Monthly 21%

Less than monthly

44%

Done

32%

33%

32%

38%

31%

39%

36%

31%

33%

35%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Silent

Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Women

Men

News/Talk

Classical

AAA

Total

Weekly streaming continues it steady growth. Now more

than half the sample streams audio weekly or more.

Weekly or more usage

35% 34%

40%

46% 43%

49% 52%

0%

20%

40%

60%

PRTS1 PRTS2 PRTS3 PRTS4 PRTS5 PRTS6 PRTS7

Done

Of those in the market for a new car in the next year,

9 in 10 say an AM/FM radio is very important.

“Very Important” features among the 10% of respondents planning on buying/leasing a new vehicle in next 12 months

4%

7%

11%

12%

13%

17%

35%

37%

53%

60%

89%

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Hard drive for media storage

DVD player

Media system (Ford SYNC, etc.)

HD Radio

Satellite radio

Wireless internet connection

GPS

CD player

Bluetooth

Smartphone/iPod connector (AUX IN)

AM/FM radio

Done

Nearly 8 in 10 public radio listeners

now has a social media profile.

34%

60% 64%

70% 73% 75%

78%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

PRTS1 PRTS2 PRTS3 PRTS4 PRTS5 PRTS6 PRTS7

Done

By 4pm, 9 in 10 public radio listeners say they are

very/somewhat informed about the day’s news stories.

Very informed

33%

Somewhat informed

60%

Not informed at

all 6% Done

At The Crossroads

©Jacobs Media 2015