Digital audio is growing at about 35 per cent year-on-year, and is now north of $150 million, Southern Cross Austereo’s Chief Sales Officer, Brian Gallagher, reckons. And as digital audio grows, so too are the learnings. For one, smart speakers make up 20 to 30 per cent of the total audience, and those people are listening for hours at a time. Two in every three dollars spent with SCA are buying direct insertions – just one third are programmatic ads. And agencies are still splitting audio and digital teams. There’s more growth ahead, Gallagher says. “At this stage of the history of the development of audio, there are absolutely no excuses for not having some form of audio product with you at every stage of your day,” he says. Jonathan Mandel, SCA’s Head of Digital Sales and Ops, says the network’s LiSTNR app has passed all expectations gaining trust and consumer opt in on Apple iOS devices.

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