(ANSA) - ROME, 12 JAN - 2021 was a golden year for entertainment in audio format after the boom of 2020. The consumption of podcasts and audio books has grown a lot in Italy, recording respectively + 4% (for a total of 14.5 million listeners) and + 11% (for a total of 10 million listeners) compared to 2020. These are the data of the research conducted in April 2021 by NielsenIQ for Audible, Amazontra company, the major player in the production and distribution of quality audio entertainment (audiobooks, podcasts and audio series).
Further research commissioned by Audible, Audible Compass2021, confirms that, after the increase given by the pandemic, audio entertainment in Europe has now fully entered people's daily lives and the Italian growth figures are shown to be in line with the trend of other European countries. The country that listens the most is Spain where 55% of respondents said they had listened to audio content in the last year, followed by Italy (46%), followed by the United Kingdom (35%), Germany. (42%) and France (37%).
In particular, Italian listeners prefer to enjoy audiobooks or podcasts at home, in total relaxation, as most of the interviewees show. Few of those who dedicate themselves to listening while they do something else: 22% while doing homework. Italians are also less likely to devote themselves to audiobooks or podcasts while cooking (16% against 20% of the European average), in the car (18% of respondents against 24% of the European average) and do not particularly like listening to content even while walking (17% against 20% of the European average). They also appreciate the fact that audiobooks and epodcasts help them fight the so-called "screen fatigue", a phenomenon in which 64% of respondents say they spend too much time in front of the screens. And they love original audio content:77% of the interviewees think it is positive that the authors write stories made specifically for listening, as it shows the success of the many Audible Original contents released in 2021. (ANSA).