Commentary

Who's Listening?

Who's Listening?

The latest radio format study from Scarborough Research, indicates that 22 percent of American adults 18+ listen to News/Talk radio, and older adults are setting their dials to the News/Talk radio format.

  • The median age of listeners is 52 - 24 percent of News/Talk listeners are ages 45-54.
  • Adults between the ages of 55 and 64 are 47 percent more likely to listen to the format
  • Seniors 65+ are 50 percent more likely to tune in, while younger adults are less likely to tune in:
  • Only three percent of News/Talk radio listeners are ages 18-24
  • 11 percent are 25-34.

    The study also reveals better-educated and affluent individuals are more likely to be News/Talk radio listeners.

  • 52 percent of listeners are white-collar workers.
  • Individuals with postgraduate degrees are 82 percent more likely to tune in than the market average
  • 37 percent of people who have a household income of $250,000 or more listen to the News/Talk radio format.
  • Over 80 percent of News/Talk radio listeners own their residence:
  • Listeners who own a second home are over a third (34 percent) more likely to tune in.
  • 53 percent) of News/Talk listeners have used a Gold or Platinum credit card in the past three months.

    Other important traits of News/Talk radio listeners.

  • 45 percent have invested in a mutual fund
  • 48 percent more likely to use a full-service or discount broker
  • 29 percent have an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
  • 74 percent are more likely to have invested in a Keogh plan.
  • 63 percent walk for exercise while over half ( - 53 percent) enjoy gardening.

    Leisure activities that rank high among News/Talk radio listeners are:

  • swimming (35 percent),
  • photography (28 percent)
  • bicycling (26 percent).

    The markets that have the highest penetrations of News/Talk radio listeners are St. Louis (40 percent), Milwaukee (39 percent), Seattle/Tacoma (37 percent), Boston and Cincinnati (both 34 percent). The markets with the lowest penetrations are Honolulu (nine percent), Memphis and Greenville (10 percent), Charleston (11 percent) and Lexington, Mobile and Wilkes-Barre (which all come in at 12 percent). Penetrations for some other metropolitan cities include Chicago (28 percent), Washington, DC (21 percent) and New York (17 percent).

    Find out more here.

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