This document summarizes key findings from the 2018 Infinite Dial study on audio consumption trends in the United States. Some of the main points include: 1) Future podcast listeners will likely have different demographics than current listeners as podcast adoption increases. Distribution across multiple platforms will be important. 2) Growth of podcast listening on Android devices is a key to further growth, as the podcast app ecosystem on Android is more fragmented. 3) Smart speaker ownership is growing faster than smartphone adoption initially did. Smart speakers are currently well-suited for news podcasts but other formats may emerge. 4) It's important to learn from the experiences of more developed podcast markets like the US to avoid similar challenges

1. THE WAY WE LISTEN
IS CHANGING
Francesco Baschieri
PODCASTING MEETUP ITALIA

2. THE
INFINITE DIAL
2016
#INFINITEDIAL
2016 #InfiniteDial
2018

3. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
5% 7%
12%
17% 16% 15%
21% 20% 21%
27% 27%
34%
39%
45% 47%
53%
57%
61%
64%
2000 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 2018
Online Audio = Listening to AM/FM radio stations online and/or listening to streamed audio content available only on the Internet
Monthly Online Audio Listening
Total Population 12+
% listening to Online Audio in last month
Estimated
180 Million

4. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
75%
50%
21%
77%
61%
26%
79%
65%
31%
87%
70%
32%
88%
73%
33%
Age 12-24 Age 25-54 Age 55+
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Monthly Online Audio Listening
% listening to Online Audio in last month
Online Audio = Listening to AM/FM radio stations online and/or listening to streamed audio content available only on the Internet

9. Perché il fenomeno in Italia è
così diverso?

10. Luglio-settembre 2014

13. Ireland
Norway
Denmark
United States
Sweden
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Finland
Spain
Switzerland
France
South Africa
Germany
Belgium
Portugal
Netherlands
Austria
Singapore
Mexico
Hong Kong
Israel
Philippines
UAE
Italy
Brazil
Hungary
Czech Rep
Chile
Ricerche di PODCAST
(normalizzate per popolazione)

14. Ireland
Norway
Denmark
United States
Sweden
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Finland
Spain
Switzerland
France
South Africa
Germany
Belgium
Portugal
Netherlands
Austria
Singapore
Mexico
Hong Kong
Israel
Philippines
UAE
Italy
Brazil
Hungary
Czech Rep
Chile
0 15 30 45 60
iOS Market share
18%
56%

15. Ireland
Norway
Denmark
United States
Sweden
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Finland
Spain
Switzerland
France
South Africa
Germany
Belgium
Portugal
Netherlands
Austria
Singapore
Mexico
Hong Kong
Israel
Philippines
UAE
Italy
Brazil
Hungary
Czech Rep
Chile
Correlazione: 0.75
(forte)

16. Attenzione:
La demografia del consumatore di podcast in
USA - oggi - è fortemente influenzata da quella
degli acquirenti Apple

17. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
57%
45%
71%
56%
Amazon Alexa
Google Home
2017
2018
Total Population 12+
Smart Speaker Awareness
% aware of Smart Speaker

18. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
7%
18%
2017 2018
Total Population 12+
Smart Speaker Ownership
% owning either Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices
Estimated
51 Million

19. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
Number of Smart Speakers in Household
Own either
Amazon Alexa or Google Home
One
67%
Two
22%
Three or more
11%
Base: Own a Smart Speaker

20. La crescita degli Smart Speaker è
più veloce di quella iniziale degli
Smartphone

21. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
22%
37% 37%
43% 45% 45% 46% 46% 48% 49%
55%
60%
64%
2006 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 2018
Total Population 12+
Podcasting Familiarity
% familiar with the term podcasting
Estimated
180 Million

22. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
11% 13%
18%
22% 23% 25%
29% 27%
30%
33%
36%
40%
44%
2006 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 2018
Estimated
124 Million
Total Population 12+
Podcast Listening
% ever listened to a podcast

23. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
9% 11% 12% 12% 14% 12%
15% 17%
21%
24% 26%
2008 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 2018
Total Population 12+
Monthly Podcast Listening
% listening to a podcast in last month
Estimated
73 Million

24. Qui c’è un problema di
Retention - legato ai contenuti

25. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
7% 8% 10%
13% 15% 17%
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Estimated
48 Million
Total Population 12+
Weekly Podcast Listening
% listening to a podcast in last week

26. Ascolto settimanale cresce più
velocemente di quello mensile:
maggior consumo pro-capite

27. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
One
18%
Two
17%
Three
13%
Four or Five
21%
Six to Ten
17%
11 or more
14%
Average of seven
podcasts listened
per week
Base: Weekly Podcast Listeners
Number of Podcasts
Listened to in Last Week

28. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
20% 17%
7%
23%
19%
10%
27% 24%
11%
27%
31%
12%
30% 32%
13%
Age 12-24 Age 25-54 Age 55+
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Monthly Podcast Listening
% listening to a podcast in last month

29. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
17%
13%
17% 16%
24%
18%
27%
21%
27% 24%
Men Women
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Monthly Podcast Listening
% listening to a podcast in last month

30. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
At home
49%
In car/truck
22%
At work
11%
Riding public
transportation
4%
Working out
4%
Walking around
3%Other
7%
Location Listened to
Podcasts Most Often
Base: Ever Listened to a Podcast

31. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
82%
49%
45%
28%
23%
21%
AM/FM Radio
CD Player
Owned Digital Music
Online Radio
Podcasts
Satellite Radio
Base: Age 18+ and has driven/ridden in car in last month; 88%
Audio Sources Used in Car
% currently ever using audio source in car

32. The Infinite Dial © 2018 Edison Research and Triton Digital
THE INFINITE DIAL
2018
#InfiniteDial
84%
56%
38%
21%
19%
82%
52%
45%
26%
19%
22%
82%
49%
45%
28%
23%
21%
AM/FM Radio
CD Player
Owned Digital Music
Online Radio
Podcasts
Satellite Radio
2016
2017
2018
Audio Sources Used in Car
Base: Age 18+ and has driven/ridden in car in last month; 88%
% currently ever using audio source in car

33. Key Takeaway

34. I prossimi ascoltatori di podcast (in
USA) saranno molto diversi dagli
attuali
1

36. NOTA: In Italia non è detto che si replicheranno
le stesse dinamiche (la diffusione di OS mobili
è meno influenzata dalla classe sociale)

37. (il podcast è veramente un format
diverso oppure siamo biased da
questi early adopters?)

38. Android è la chiave per la
crescita.
2

39. NOTA: L’app di riferimento su Android
potrebbe anche non essere il podcast
player del sistema operativo…

40. Come podcaster dovete
già distribuire ovunque!

41. Gli Smart Speaker crescono più
velocemente degli smartphone
3

42. Oggi sono perfetti per le news
(ma probabilmente altri formati
arriveranno presto)

44. Essere “follower” può aiutarci a non
replicare gli stessi errori e ad
“ispirarci”
4

45. Nota: oggi in USA i podcast diventano serie
TV. Possiamo lavorare sullo stesso filone
per capire cosa funzionerebbe anche qui

46. Buon Meetup!