Paragon Releases Second Annual Youth Radio and New Media Study

Denver, CO - Radio fortified its position as the medium of convenience in Paragon Media Strategies’ Second Annual Youth Radio & New Media Study.  In 2008, radio stemmed the TSL erosion from the onslaught of new media documented in Paragon Media Strategies’ 2007 study.  This study quantifiably trends how the next generation of 25-54 year olds use radio and new media.  We interviewed 409 respondents age 14-24 via an online survey.

"This year's results of this on-going study can be considered great news for radio, which hasn't had a lot to celebrate lately with younger demos.  14 to 24 year old TSL to radio is up and radio continues to dominate in-car music listening.  More younger listeners say they are listening to radio "more" than "less" and that is a significant change from a year ago,” comments John Stevens, President & COO / Radio, Paragon Media Strategies.

Highlights:

Key indicators up for radio

-       Time Spent Listening (TSL) increased in 2008

-       Although a majority listens to music from sources other than radio, the percentage who list radio as their primary source of recorded music rebounded sharply in 2008.

-       More people say they’re listening to radio “More” than “Less”, which is a reversal from 2007

In Car listening spearheads the increase in radio TSL

-       Radio clearly dominates in-car music delivery with a substantial lead over CDs and iPod/ portable MP3 players

iPods and portable MP3 ownership and use is up substantially this year

-       The number of songs on respondents’ iPods and the number of customized CDs they own has plateaued

-       While iPod use has a negative impact on radio TSL, the effect was somewhat muted this year

Music is radio’s main draw for 14 to 24 year olds

-       Getting turned on to new and different music as well as the variety of music radio offers are the primary reasons for listening to radio

-       Radio challenges the Internet as the primary way to find out about new music

-       Respondents’ desire for more new music on the radio increased in 2008

-       Radio website usage is up this year

Use and ownership of all New Media measured continues to climb:

-       Video games up 10%

-       Cell phone ownership up sharply

-       Watching webcasts over the internet up

-       61% post audio or video for others to watch/hear

-       86% going to social networking sites…up nearly 20 percentage points from 2007

Answers to more questions and all results of the Youth Radio and New Media study are now online.  Please visit our website.  www.paragonmediastrategies.com