Me: Alexa, how many consumers In Boston have access to a smart speaker?

Alexa: According to a recent Nielsen study, 1,466,213 Boston adults own a smart speaker. This is 36.1% of the local population.*

Me: Alexa, what exactly is a smart speaker?

Alexa: According to Wikipedia, A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and hands-free activation with the help of one "hot word" (or several "hot words"). Some smart speakers can also act as a smart device that utilizes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other protocol standards to extend usage beyond audio playback, such as to control home automation devices. This can include, but is not limited to, features such as compatibility across a number of services and platforms, peer-to-peer connection through mesh networking, virtual assistants, and others. Each can have its own designated interface and features in-house, usually launched or controlled via application or home automation software. Some smart speakers also include a screen to show the user a visual response.

Me: Alexa, what brand of smart speakers are Boston consumers likely to own?

According to Nielsen, 1,323,799 Boston consumers listened to or downloaded a podcast during the past 30 days. This is 32.9% of the adult population.

A podcast is a downloadable digital audio file available to listeners on an internet-connected device like a smartphone, tablet, or computer. These files are typically part of series focusing on a particular theme such as true crime, professional football, politics, or pop culture.

Boston consumers can listen to their favorite podcasts whenever they choose using apps like Spotify, Pandora, Google, and Stitcher. The most used podcasting app, though, is Apple Podcasts.

Research from PodcastHosing.org indicates that Boston consumers can access more than 2,000,000 podcast series comprising over 48,000,000 unique episodes. According to data compiled by Edison research, the top 10 podcasts during the second quarter of 2021 were:

Since 1922, local small business owners have been advertising on Boston radio to market the goods and services they sell.

Lately, some of these advertisers are voicing concerns, though, that the accelerating use of smart speakers could erode the effectiveness of commercials on local stations. Current research, however, reveals that these devices actually extend the reach of the medium and its ad content.

More than 1.2 million consumers in Boston have a smart speaker in their homes, according to Nielsen. This is 30% of the local adult population.

Smart speakers are internet-enabled devices controlled by spoken commands and capable of streaming audio content, relaying information, and communicating with other devices. 

According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) data, Amazon Echo (aka Alexa) accounts for 69% of all smart speakers in use. Google's smart speaker makes up another 20% of the market. The remaining 11% of the market comprises Apple Home (aka Siri), Sonos, and Bose.

Boston consumers can use their smart speakers to accomplish a diverse range of tasks, including accessing news, weather, and sports information; turning on lights in the house; shopping; and food delivery.

The most common use of a smart speaker, though, is streaming audio, including Boston radio stations, according to eMarketer. Edison Research's Share of Ear Study indicates that consumers devote 13% of their total time using a smart speaker listening to AM/FM radio stations. This is second only to the time spent listening to Amazon Music at 19%.

When Boston's first radio station, WBZ, began broadcasting on September 21, 1921, the station needed a tall antenna and lots of buried copper cable to transmit its signal.  Radio receivers at the time were mostly homemade and involved a piece of crystalline mineral and a wire coil.

Over many decades in Boston, both the broadcasting and receiving equipment improved. In the mid-1920s this meant store-bought radios. In the 1930s this meant car radios. In the 1960s this meant transistor radios. In the 1970s this meant boom boxes. And, in the 1980s this meant Walkmen. But, despite these improvements, the fundamental technology of big towers sending a signal through the air to a radio receiver remained the same.

In 1994, there was a new way for Boston consumers to listen to the radio. That was the year local stations across the country began streaming their signals over the internet and listeners could use their computers (later their smartphones and smart speakers) as receiving devices. No big antennas, no wires, and no actual radio needed.

In 2021, according to Nielsen, Boston radio reaches more local consumers than any other advertising media option.

Neilsen finds, too, that 32% of all consumers who listen to a Boston radio station over-the-air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. 

Boston's first radio station, WBZ-AM, began broadcasting on September 15, 1921.  The process of getting the station's programming from the studio into the home of local listeners required tall-transmitting towers with miles of underground copper wire in the middle of massive fields.

For the next 72 years, this massive investment in real estate, steel, and cooper was the only method of delivering a radio advertiser's message into the ears of Boston consumers.

In 1993, however, new technology permitted Boston radio stations to augment the reach of their tall towers by simultaneously streaming its over-the-air programming via the internet. This provided local consumers with the choice of listening to their favorite stations on their car radios, clock radios, and boom boxes or on an internet connected devices like computers, smartphones, or tablets.

Today, based on estimates from Edison Research, 11% of listening to local radio stations occurs on a streaming media device.  The ability for AM/FM to migrate from their tall towers to internet streaming allows Boston radio to reach more local consumers every week than all other media.

There are 33 radio stations in Boston. Each provides a unique format of news, sports, music, entertainment, and inspiration. Some stations broadcast in English. Others serve Spanish speakers. Some stations cater to millennials. Others appeal to Baby Boomers.  No doubt, there is a local radio station that fulfills the preferences of every listener.

Each week, according to Nielsen, 3.3 million adults tune-in to their favorite Boston radio stations. This is more people than watch local TV, cable, or streaming channels. This is more than use Facebook and Instagram. This is more than read newspapers or connect to Pandora and Spotify. 

Despite the abundance of Boston radio stations to choose between, Nielsen reports that, on average, adult consumers only listen to 2.5 each week.  So, which stations do local consumers choose?

Over 950,000 consumers in the Boston area now own a smart speaker. Ownership of these devices, including Amazon Echo and Google Home, has grown five-fold since the beginning of 2017.

According to Adobe Analytics, significantly  more consumers are asking Siri and Alexa to play music than any other activity.

Many New England small business owners depend on local radio to advertise their goods and service. So, how does the use of smart speakers as an audio device affect their radio advertising's ability to reach local consumers? The answer is: none at all.