Audio series platform Pocket FM released its “Rewind2023: How India Got Entertained This Year” update today, highlighting the consumption behaviour and trends on the platform during the year.
The platform has exceeded 75 billion minutes of streaming, with an average monthly streaming of over 6 billion minutes. The listener community has crossed 130 million across the globe. It has registered over 20 million transactions in 2023, closing the year with 2.5 million monthly transactions.
The new entertainment category that Pocket FM pioneered with audio series got the entire nation hooked on its storytelling. Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore turned out to be the most active cities, with over 5 billion minutes being streamed from here. Emerging cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, Surat and Pune also ranked in Pocket FM’s Top 10 Indian cities for 2023.
In 2023, the audio series category has driven this platform to a 24/7 entertainment destination, experiencing consistent user engagement across all time zones. 31.4% of consumption occurred during leisure time (9 pm – 6 am). Morning (6-9 am) and evening (6-9 pm) hours saw 25.2% consumption. However, the maximum spike was witnessed during productive hours (9 am – 6 pm) with 43.4% consumption. This pattern reiterates the role of audio entertainment doubling up as a mental wellness support, helping to reduce stress and distraction while it increasing attention and focus. An almost equal gender representation was seen, with males constituting 55% of the audience. Gen Z holds the majority at 39%, followed by millennials at 30% and GenX at 21%.
In 2023, the top genres were Drama, Romance, and Sci-Fi & Fantasy. Males showed a preference for Drama series, while females exhibited a greater interest in Romance. Surprisingly, both genders demonstrated equal excitement for Sci-Fi and Fantasy series consumption.
The platform achieved remarkable growth in 2023, doubling its audio series catalogue to end the year with 2000+ titles. The standout shows of the year, ‘Insta Millionaire,’ ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To,’ and ‘Devil Se Shaadi,’ emerged as the biggest hits, leading in both playtime and revenue collection in India.
Encouraged by this trend, Rohan Nayak, Cofounder and CEO, Pocket FM said, “This year, audio series as a category has surged in popularity, firmly establishing as a mainstream entertainment choice. We have emerged as a leading entertainment destination, boasting an average daily time spent of over 115 minutes and witnessing 24×7 entertainment consumption throughout the day. This year our blockbuster series Insta Millionaire has crossed Rs.100 crores in revenue, possibly the first entertainment title in audio to achieve this landmark. We predict this trend to get stronger, with audio series rising to prominence among the top three forms of entertainment, inspiring and complementing the storytelling in movies, web series, and TV.”
“Audio series as a category has been instrumental for writers, enabling them to share their stories with millions across the world. Thousands of writers are joining our community every day, inspired by the success stories of existing writers, turning us into a launchpad for storytellers through audio series. To support and reward our writers, we have set aside a Writers’ Fund of Rs. 250 crores for the writers community, ensuring they stay financially motivated in their creative journey.” added Nayak