is this good news?

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has reported a 30% increase year-on-year in listening hours, and a 20% year-on-year increase in live radio streaming.

SCA’s streaming figures (Click to enlarge)​

The announcement:
SCA’s audiences continue to embrace digital radio platforms and are listening longer and more often, to reach a new milestone of 10.1 million listening hours in July, an increase of 30% year on year.
More people are tuning into Hit and Triple M than ever before, with live radio streaming increasing by 20% year on year to 1.1 million listeners* and catch up radio jumping 80% year on year to 3.5 million* downloads.
Smart speakers too are an increasingly popular choice for listeners, reporting 2.1 million listening hours in July, up 69% year on year, and an average session duration of 2 hours and 20 minutes^.
PodcastOne Australia’s original podcasts have also reported record listening growth – rising 155% from March 1 to July 31**.
Listening on demand, including live radio streaming across mobile, tablet and smart speakers, as well as catch up radio podcasts, has soared again in July:

• 8.5 million active live radio streams, up 36% year on year, with 10.1 million total listening hours, up 30% year on year*
• Total listening hours on mobiles and tablets is up 12% year on year, desktops up 10% and smart speakers are up 69%*
• There were 316,000 downloads of SCA Smart News in July, up 95%^ month on month
• Triple M’s annual No Talk Day on 1 July saw live streams increase by 53% year on year and a 42% jump in listeners
• SCA’s PodcastOne Australia listening was up 155% from March to July**.

“Live radio streaming and catch up radio podcasts have continued to grow, despite COVID-19 restrictions easing, and are now firmly a part of people’s daily routine. Smart speaker listening is also showing remarkable growth, with almost a quarter of SCA’s audience owning a smart speaker and showing enviable time spent listening. Digital audio growth in radio and podcasting is set for a big year as more listeners tune into Hit and Triple M, more often and for longer than ever before,” SCA Chief Sales Officer, Brian Gallagher, said.
Sources:
* Adswizz Audiometrix July 2019 v July 2020
^ Omny Studio July 2019 vs July 2020
** Omny Studio March to July 2020
Source: SCA media release