Radio industry promises unified audio exchange, presses the case for bigger spend
Lizzie Young kicking off Heard 2026 (Mumbrella)
The commercial radio industry presented a united front to advertisers and media at its annual Heard conference in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, announcing a “unified audio exchange” to be launched next year.
Commercial Radio and Audio CEO Lizzie Young opened proceedings by touting the appeal of audio (read: radio and podcasts) to consumers.
Young cited a Deloitte report that found news consumption is down 26%, social has declined 16%, video is back 13%, while audio consumption has risen 33% year-on-year — now commanding 28% of total digital entertainment consumption.
Doh!
In rural areas the shops are fewer than in urban areas and also more scattered and dispersed. If you calculate the “shops per local people ratio” you’d know that the difference mentioned may be mathematical but that the shops are few in regional areas.