One of the hottest topics among Christian radio friends right now is podcasting. Fascinating findings in the The 2021 Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey, with almost 11,000 respondents from three different formats: Music/Teaching (Hybrid) stations, All-Teaching stations/programs, and Music (CCM) stations on this topic.
Here’s the headline: There are dramatic differences in the use of Christian podcasts among the three formats.
Here’s how we asked the question: In the last week or so, how many times have you listened online to podcasts (online programming available for you to listen anytime) from any Christian radio ministry?
We took the percentage of respondents who answered from “10+ times” to “1” and added them up. And then we compared to the percentage who indicated they did not listen to online podcasts from any Christian radio ministry. And here are the results by format of those who indicated hearing podcasts from Christian radio ministries in the past week:
CCM Listeners: 35%
Hybrid (Music and Teaching) Listeners: 51%
Teaching/Spoken Word Stations & Programs: 63%
What does this mean?
Nearly two-thirds of listeners who came from Teaching & Spoken Word stations have listened to at least one podcast from a Christian radio ministry within the past week. But only about one-third of listeners who came from CCM stations have done the same. The prevalence of listening to online, on-demand programming among Teaching Station listeners is massive.
And it makes sense. These are listeners who have specifically chosen long-form Teaching. If they hear it on the radio, they are likely to either merge in the middle of the program . . . or they are likely to have to leave before the program ends. Either way, it would seem to be the kind of programming that is tailor-made for on-demand consumption. And two-thirds of our respondents have already made that choice.
Among the folks in the survey, almost everyone indicated Christian radio – FM or AM – listening. For each of the three formats, 96% or more of the respondents indicated recent listening to the station that sent them the survey. So, it would appear these online choices are in addition to, not instead of, their radio listening.
A second headline: It appears there’s a lot of “backing and forthing” – friends who listen to the radio and to podcasts.
Strategizing podcasting success is #1 on our list as a topic of discussion as we head into NRB in a few weeks. We’re setting meetings now and would love to get together if you’ll be there in Nashville. Just REACH OUT to us and we’ll set a time either there or via Zoom, when you’re ready!
