Web radio and audio establish themselves in the German online advertising market

Web radio and online audio advertising environments are becoming increasingly relevant for advertising customers, agencies and listeners, and providers are also expecting high growth momentum in the coming years. They expect advertising revenue to increase by 40% to EUR 35 million in 2017.

Mobile advertising environments are growing particularly dynamically. The share of mobile online audio views is already at 34%. This is according to the Webradiomonitor 2017, which deals exclusively with the online audio market and was published in the run-up to dmexco by the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM), the German Association of the Digital Economy (BVDW) and the Association of Private Broadcasting and Telemedia (VPRT).

Lars Peters, deputy chairman of the BVDW audio focus group and independent media consultant: "Online audio has arrived with users and is a natural companion in all everyday situations. This reach combined with online advertising opportunities such as programmatic advertising increases the attractiveness of the entire audio genre for advertisers. The resounding success of voice control services such as Alexa is a further indication of the high level of dynamism and innovative spirit in the industry."

Siegfried Schneider, President of the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM): "Radio has become a multi-channel medium. Radio is also gaining reach and diversity online and is being supplemented by on-demand offerings. The Webradiomonitor documents this development and proves the continuing dynamism and innovativeness with which the online audio market is developing. This provides a solid factual basis for setting the political course as well as for business decisions."

Klaus Schunk, Chairman of the Radio and Audio Services Division in the VPRT Association and Managing Director of Radio Regenbogen: "Web radio is an increasingly important reception channel for digital radio use. I am particularly pleased that the well-known FM brands are being sought and found here by listeners as the most frequently used offerings. The results of the study impressively demonstrate the importance of mobile use for digital radio. We reach our listeners in completely new usage situations on mobile devices. This also applies to our advertising customers, which makes radio and audio advertising even more attractive for them."

For the Webradiomonitor 2017, both providers and users of web radio and audio offerings were surveyed and included in the analysis.

According to the user survey, 50% of all audio and music consumption among online audio listeners (aged 14 and over), including radio and web radio use, took place online in 2017 (2016: 48%). Demand for live radio and music streaming is particularly high - especially for traditional radio brands with their one-to-one transmission on the internet. They are used at least occasionally by 71% of the online audio users surveyed, followed by video streaming services (56%), music streaming services (55%), online sub-brands of simulcast radios (29%), online-only radios (28%), podcasts (17%), radio aggregators (11%) and user-generated radios (3%).

At 76%, a particularly high proportion of online audio users say they also listen to their web radio and audio services at home. This figure is 31 percent in the car, 27 percent on the train, 25 percent at work, 22 percent at parties and events, 21 percent each on public transport and during sport, 20 percent on foot, 19 percent when falling asleep, 15 percent when waking up and 12 percent on the bike.

The majority of providers surveyed recorded an increase in the number of downloads in the past year. This applies in particular to ad-financed online audio providers, 71% of which reported an increase in downloads and 22% stable downloads. According to the provider survey, the proportion of mobile downloads rose to 34% in 2017 (2016: 32%). By 2019, providers expect a mobile share of 40%.

Based on an estimated net advertising volume of web radio and online audio providers of around EUR 25 million (audio and display advertising) in the past year, a further increase in net advertising revenue to EUR 35 million (+40%) is expected in 2018. By 2019, revenue is even expected to rise to EUR 63 million. The share of mobile revenue is then expected to exceed 50% for the first time. According to the online audio providers surveyed, the share of programmatic advertising will be around 9% in 2017 and is expected to rise to around 30% by 2019.