Time spent with digital audio surpassed that of radio for the first time in 2021.

Digital audio consumption includes listening to music, podcasts, or other audio content via internet-based audio streaming services within an app or website. That includes services like Apple Music or Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Pandora. It also includes listening to podcasts the user downloads, though excludes other downloaded audio files like music MP3s.

They rank first across every digital category we measure, including smartphone use and podcast consumption. Millennials’ shopping habits are very digital and intentional. More digital buyers are in the millennial cohort than in any other generational group.

Even with reduced commuting, mobile audio still grew in 2020. As more people return to commuting, we expect time spent with mobile audio to grow 9.1% in 2021 to reach 1:16, nearly 80% of total digital audio time. Overall, mobile audio will be the single biggest slice of mobile time spent. Over a quarter (28.9%) of mobile nonvoice minutes will be spent in audio apps or on audio sites in 2021.

If social network users start to engage in new social audio features (i.e., Twitter Spaces or Facebook Live Audio Rooms), that will also help drive up time spent. No. 3: In 2021, Facebook Will Experience Its Slowest Growth Ever. The number of US Facebook users will increase by less than 1% to 179.5 million in 2021, the lowest annual growth rate for the platform recorded.

Young consumers have led the way in terms of digital habits and consumption through the pandemic, but older age groups have been forced to catch up. Some old habits may die hard in these groups, but the digital future has definitely been hastened.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco discuss how digital adoption has made it possible—or not—for people to work, study and entertain themselves from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Who doesn't use the internet? Do people spend more time watching Netflix or YouTube? And which platforms get the most social media attention? They then talk about Spotify Kids, faster same-day delivery and Sling TV losing customers.

eMarketer analyst Ross Benes, forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom, Business Insider Intelligence research associate Daniel Carnahan and senior analyst Audrey Schomer discuss whether the coronavirus might accelerate cord-cutting, whether sports TV rights will shift to digital platforms quicker, how a delayed NFL season could impact ad spending, how many Americans watch sports, what a second COVID-19 wave might do to the leagues and its lasting effects on sports consumption.

Digital Audio Listeners. Digital audio has benefited from the UK lockdowns. Even with the reduced commuting time likely eating into mobile audio listening, UK listeners still tuned in to digital audio elsewhere and will continue doing so.

GlobalWebIndex found major age-related variations in digital audio consumption, too. Overall, 65.4% of internet users polled in Denmark streamed music, podcasts, or other digital audio content in the prior month, compared with 61.1% in H1 2019. But usage among those 16 to 24 remained far greater, approaching 93%.

This report reviews our final 2020 numbers and new 2021 forecast for US time spent with media, highlighting pre- and post-pandemic estimates and expectations. Special attention is paid to TV, connected TV, OTT, digital audio, and social media.

Spotify has the most users among digital audio platforms, followed by Pandora, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. Amazon will surpass Pandora in listeners next year.

Digital audio consumption also rose substantially YoY, across all demographics. In total, 58.1% of internet users said they had streamed music, podcasts, or other audio content from digital sources. These behaviors still correlate strongly with age, however, with penetration ranging from 89.4% of 16- to 24-year-olds to just 31.0% of those 55 to 64.

The NPR/Edison Research survey found that smart speakers were becoming increasingly popular for audio consumption and were starting to replace listening on smartphones and tablets in the past year. In April 2020, 23% of US smart speaker owners said they used their smart speakers most often for listening to audio, up from 19% in May 2019. Smart Home Control Grows.

On today's episode, we discuss emerging podcast sub-worlds, how listener behavior has (permanently?) changed, and how the ad dollars are fairing. We then talk about what we expect from Twitter's Ticketed Spaces, what is going on in the world of print, and how Americans get their news on social media. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Listening habits have been steadily moving online in recent years. From music streaming to podcasts, there’s been a growing appetite for digital audio. While the assumption might be that the coronavirus pandemic has increased audio streaming, the picture is less straightforward. Pure music streaming via platforms like Spotify and Pandora is being eschewed in favor of music videos.

As with SVOD, consumption of digital audio remains lower than in several other parts of the world. Just six in 10 respondents had listened to digital audio content (including music, podcasts, or audiobooks) in the month prior to polling. Music streaming accounted for 57 minutes per day on average. By contrast, nearly 78% had tuned in to broadcast radio in the previous month.

GlobalWebIndex also measured podcast consumption in 2020 for the first time; in Egypt, podcasts accounted for 49 minutes daily on average. Similarly, online press accounted for more time per day than print press, at 1:23 and 46 minutes, respectively. But both values rose from H1 2019.

The podcast listener numbers follow a general trend in digital audio consumption in Canada, where 70% of respondents said they listened in the past month, compared with 67% in the US. Canadian research firm Media Technology Monitor (MTM) placed monthly listenership at 26% of the adult population in fall 2019.

Consumption of digital audio content followed a very similar pattern: More than two-thirds of the youngest cohort and 46.5% of affluents had streamed music, podcasts, or other digital audio material in the month prior; males were more likely than females to do so. The prevalence of PCs among seniors is shaping daily time spent with various media.

US adults spend significantly more time listening to terrestrial radio than to any other ad-supported audio format.

Consumption of digital audio was also much more common among younger respondents in H1 2020. The share of internet users listening to streaming music, podcasts, or other digital audio content fell more than 10 percentage points with each decade of increasing age. Growing digital activity is slowly reshaping the device landscape.