STUDY: RADIO DEEMED MOST POPULAR, SATISFYING IN-CAR SOURCE.
More than three-fourths of American drivers (77%) listen to AM/FM radio in the car at least weekly. That total dwarfs all other audio options, including CD players (41%), connecting a phone (27%), satellite radio (23%), Pandora (18%), Spotify (13%), Apple Music (10%) and Amazon Music (10%).
That’s one of the topline results from new research of 1,200 English-speaking American drivers aged 18-64 from Frank Magid & Associates.
“The message is very, very good for radio, which has always been very strong in the car,” Mike Bloxham, senior VP, television & video at the research firm, said during a first look at the results at the NAB Show Wednesday in Las Vegas. “The narrative around radio has been hijacked by the media and agency people but the data always refutes that position.”
Asked which audio source they use most often in the car, half (51%) of all respondents selected AM/FM, more than two-and-one-half times its next nearest competitor, satellite radio at No. 2 with 14%. That was followed by the CD player (10%), connecting a phone (7%), Pandora (6%), Spotify (4%), Amazon Prime Music (2%) and Apple Music (1%).
AM/FM was also found to be the most important audio source in the car, with 73% giving it a 4 or 5 on a 1-5 importance scale. All other options trailed by significant margins: CD player (49%), connecting a phone (40%), satellite radio (28%), Pandora (24%), Spotify (16%), Amazon Prime Music (12%) and Apple Music (12%).
The study also shows broadcast radio delivers the highest level of satisfaction of any in-car audio source. More than seven in ten (72%) said they are either very or highly satisfied with AM/FM radio in the car. Once again, no other service came close. CD player ranked second (51%), followed by connecting a phone (34%), satellite radio (23%) and Pandora (10%).
A majority of drivers said they would miss AM/FM radio if it was not available in their next car. “It’s like taking the tires off, if you took the radio out,” Bloxham said. And AM/FM is the No. 1 source for eight of the top 10 most important in-car attributes, such as “playing my favorite music,” “easy to use” and “playing a variety of music,” along with service elements such as traffic, local news and weather.
Radio’s place in the daily routine of Americans “will give the medium a real strong defense against the intrusion of other services,” Bloxham said. “But it doesn’t make you inviolate. It means you still have to be on your guard against the intrusion of others who are sexier or more glamorous. But you have a very strong case to make.”
The study was conducted in conjunction with veteran researcher Marshall Cohen and consultant Fred Jacobs. Completed in October 2015, it included 1,200 English-speaking American drivers aged 18-64 who drive at least 30 minutes per day and had some involvement in the car purchase decision-making process.
Radio brings a whole world flying invisibly through the air that finds your car everywhere it goes. Our grandparents called it magic and it has never stopped being magical.
That other stuff comes with some effort. Making a cell phone call while driving is obviously distracting therefore risky, but it also requires active involvement which costs mental and physical energy to keep up your side of the conversation. After a phone call you need to relax by listening to the radio.
Listening to satellite radio causes tension and frustration because your sub-conscious mind resents having to pay for what you're hearing, which is never something you'd pay for if you'd known in advance what it would be like.
Tapes and discs present management problems in the front seat of a car where dust, sunlight and out-of-reach glove compartments make disk jockeying sort of a struggle, wondering if it will get jammed again and refuse to reject.
All the communications in the driver's seat are all being paid off while radio is the only one that brings a wonderful payoff.
None of our family cars in the 1950s had radios. Car radios were an expensive option and not many folks bought them yet in home radios were very common. I know this because I repaired radios when I was a kid.
The first car I owned was a used 1963 Chevy and it had a radio which I considered quite a luxury. I worked on Christmas Eve for triple time pay and used the proceeds to buy a FM converter which I installed in my car. The car is long gone but the converter is here and still works.
The only radio I presently listen to while mobile is our local FM public radio station but the only "news" of late has been know little hosts guessing about the upcoming election and chewing on "what ifs". My radio is now off while I motor about.
Neil
Neil said: "My radio is now off while I motor about."
Motor about what, Neil?
Of course that's just a joke, but Neil's experience made me think about what I do while motoring.
I always tune to one of my KDX signals and listen until out of range, then continue listening to the blank spot on the dial trying to detect distant stations. Perhaps that could be labeled "DXing".
Never have I tried the built-in MP3 disc player that came with the car, because the car is not a suitable environment for keeping a disc library, and I have never found the car to be a suitable concert hall.
NPR deserves a mention because I sometimes give it a few seconds, but programs like "The History of Aviation" or "The Discovery of the Marshmellow" usually won't do it for me.
Some newer cars have fantastic sound systems. My delco in my 82 C10 sounds absolutely amazing. (Thanks to the "Premium" ETR Digital Delco Radio and new speakers)