PHOENIX – Newly released data from the Arizona Broadcasters Association shows sizable shifts in how Arizona audiences consume media as both economic concern and inflation continues to loom over the state.

The 2023 Arizona Media Study shows sizable growth for free media services on both traditional and digital platforms while paid subscriptions have experienced moderate declines.

The report also shows the resilience of social media, how the cable TV landscape continues to evolve and the ways technology is changing the face of audio consumption.

“The 2023 data shows Arizona audiences are looking for every opportunity possible to keep expenses low without losing access to news, sports and entertainment,” said ABA President/CEO Chris Kline. “That’s resulted in growth for three key platforms – local TV, local radio and free social media platforms – plus growth for many of the tools that make it cheaper and easier to get access to free content.”

Here are the 2023 Arizona Media Study highlights:

-Local TV consumption (for news, live sports, entertainment, etc..) remained the #1 video platform in Arizona.

-Paid streaming TV subscription consumption fell by 17% in 2023 and Netflix subscriptions alone dropped 11%.

-Although cable and satellite TV subscriptions were mostly flat in 2023, subscriptions to lower-cost internet cable TV providers led by YouTubeTV grew to surpass traditional cable. Over-the-air TV antenna usage also grew by 13%.

-Overall news consumption (and hunger for information) was up on every media platform available in 2023; not a single traditional or digital platform showed any statistical decline.

-Local radio consumption (for music, sports, news, etc..) remained the #1 audio platform in Arizona.

-The digital evolution of local radio continued to accelerate in 2023. While 75% of Arizona consumers said they listen to local radio from a car, 59% of consumers said they listen to local radio from a streaming platform (up by 15% from 2022).

-Paid streaming audio subscription consumption was flat in 2023, but Spotify use in Arizona fell for a third straight year.

-Both local and national podcast consumption saw double digit increases in 2023.

-Across social media, the use of YouTube, Facebook and Instagram grew in 2023. All three platforms remain the most consumed social platforms in Arizona, carrying on a multi-year trend.

-Arizona consumers pointed to TV commercials, radio ads/endorsements and social media marketing as the most influential sources to learn about new products or services in 2023.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE CORE INSIGHTS

The Arizona Media Study is an annual report issued by the Arizona Broadcasters Association. The study is independently conducted by research firm SmithGeiger. To build the 2023 report, SmithGeiger conducted 1,250 interviews to mirror census data that matches Arizona demographics.

For more information, contact Arizona Broadcasters Association President Chris Kline, chris@azbroadcasters.org