Awareness of podcasts continues to grow in Australia while smart speaker ownership has almost tripled over the last 12 months.

Data from the 2019 Infinite Dial Australia Study, undertaken by Edison Research on behalf of Southern Cross Austereo’s PodcastOne subsidiary, suggests 13% of Australians now own a smart speaker, up from 5% in 2018.

Brand awareness of smart speakers in Australia found Google Home leading with 77% awareness, compared to Amazon Alexa at 45% and Apple HomePod 45%.

Podcast awareness amongst the population increased to 83%, up from 78% a year ago.

Fifteen per cent of Australians listened to podcasts in the last week, up from 13% a year ago and 10% in 2017

Use of radio remained strong across multiple platforms, with 83% of the population aged 12 and over listening in the last week. That figure stood at 85% when the research was first conducted in Australia in 2017, suggesting the medium remains stable.

On that basis, radio compares strongly with other media channels, such as social: According to the study, 83% of Australians use social media, with a slight decline in Facebook use (71%) and an increase in Instagram (44%) and WhatsApp (31%).

“The study shows that audio in Australia is the same kind of dynamic space we see in America,” said Edison Research President Larry Rosin. “Australian radio retains a large audience while streaming and podcasting continue to grow and new devices create new opportunities.”

The Australian research was undertaken in Q1 2019 and is based on a telephone survey of 1,021 people aged 12 and older.

See full findings at: http://www.radioalive.com.au/