ARN and SCA post record digital audio listening numbers for May

Australian Radio Network (ARN) and Southern Cross Austereo’s (SCA) LiSTNR networks have each recorded their biggest ever months of digital listening for May.

ARN posted 8.2 million total digital audio listening hours for the month, with one million unique listeners tuning into ARN’s digital services to result in a 25% year-on-year growth from May 2020.

The platform also recorded 2.9 million listening hours from dedicated smart speakers, noting a 64% year-on-year increase.

ARN’s head of digital audio Corey Layton said the company had vast plans to build on the momentum.

“Across live streaming stations ARN’s digital platforms continue to scale as we focus on greater personalisation for our audiences as part of our acquisition and retention strategy,” he said.

ARN isn’t the only network to reap the rewards of the digital audio sector, however, with SCA’s LiSTNR has also notching up a record high of 10.9 million active streams throughout May, posting an increase of 20% from last year.

May saw LiSTNR deliver 10.9 million total digital audio listening hours over its livestreaming radio, podcasts, music, sports and news offerings to result in a 9%  year-on-year growth, while its unique streaming listeners grew by 19% to total 1.56 million.

Podcast listening across LiSTNR’s premium original titles also reached a record of 2.7 million listeners to post an 18% year-on-year increase, while smart speaker listening surged by 36% from last year to claim 2.8 million total listening hours.

SCA’s chief sales officer Brian Gallagher highlighted that the network has seen 64% more brands utilising digital audio advertising compared to this time last year, noting the success of LiSTNR since launching in February.

“Our unique ability to understand our users provides advertisers with quality data to plan and execute digital audio campaigns, validated by the incredible 64% growth in advertisers who have taken advantage of digital audio campaigns in the last year,” Gallagher said.

“We are enjoying the opportunity to help our advertisers drive brand recall and purchase with our platform in new and creative ways.

“LiSTNR has created a premium, personalised digital audio ecosystem for both audiences and advertisers which reaches over 4 million Australians and is growing fast.

“Streaming hours and time spent listening across our radio brands, podcasts, news and music continues to surge, demonstrating that consumers have now embraced digital audio as part of their everyday lives.”

ARN’s chief commercial officer Pete Whitehead was similarly emphatic about the opportunities presented by digital audio for brands.

“ARN has invested in our digital offering to ensure we provide the best integration and commercial opportunities for brands. We continue to focus on integrated cross promotional opportunities across our powerhouse radio brands and social footprint as well as expanding commercial partnerships – like TikTok Trending on iHeartRadio – that unlock new audiences. As a leader in digital audio, ARN is continuing to invest and innovate across our platforms to generate market-leading opportunities for our commercial partners,” he said.

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