- Pureplay radio services are webcasters that transmit only on the internet; they don't transmit simulcasts of AM/FM radio broadcasts. These may not be interactive ("on demand") based on a ruling on royalty payments. (Arista)
- Online audio's monthly audience (pureplay/AM/FM streamed combined) is estimated at 233 million, representing 81% penetration of the U.S. 12+ population.
- 88% of America's 12-34-year-olds listen online monthly
- 87% of adults aged 35-54 are online listeners
- The 55+ audience is slower to adopt, with just 70% penetration
(Source: The Infinite Dial 2026 - Edison Research/SiriusXM Media)
- 58% of consumers listened to music from a streaming service e.g., Spotify (increasing to 74% among Gen Z).
(Source: YouGov Surveys, April 16, 2025 – May 13, 2025)
- 42% of consumers listen to streamed music every day, while a further 21% listen multiple times a week. The number of consumers who never stream music is 15%.
(Source: Attest, 2025 U.S. Media Consumption Report)
- 61% of persons 18+ listen to ad-supported radio daily, in Q4 2025.
- Persons 18-34 - 44%
- Persons 25-54 - 57%
- Persons 35+ - 67%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear", Q4 2025)
- Marketers and media agencies significantly overestimate audience shares to Pandora/Spotify and massively underestimate AM/FM radio audiences.
(Source: Advertiser Perceptions, August 2025)
- As older demographics flock to the medium, the median age of podcast listeners has risen from 29 in 2017 to 38 in 2025.
(Source: Edison Research, Share of Ear, Q4 2025)
- "I find myself moving away from digital music and yearning for the days
when music was analog and physical (on vinyl, cassette, etc.)" percentage who agree (strongly agree + agree):
- Male - 29%
- Female - 32%
- Gen Z - 43%
- Millennials - 32%
- Gen X - 31%
- Boomers - 29%
- Greatest - 27%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who listen to AM/FM radio, % who say this is a main reason they listen:
- Easiest to listen to in car - 66%
- It’s free - 62%
- DJs/Hosts/Shows - 60%
- In the habit of listening - 58%
- Feel a connection w/ radio - 55%
- Hear favorite songs/artists - 53%
- Like to work with radio - 48%
- Keeps me company - 45%
- What’s going on locally - 40%
- To be informed about the news - 39%
- To be informed in an emergency - 36%
- Get in a better mood - 35%
- Enjoy talk shows - 34%
- Escape pressures of everyday life - 32%
- Music curation - 30%
- Weather - 29%
- Discover new music/new artists - 25%
- Music surprises - 24%
- Traffic - 24%
- Sports - 24%
- Charitable/community events - 22%
- Listen for on-demand programming - 15%
- To win prizes - 15%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who listen to AM/FM radio, how their listening this year compares to last year:
- Same - A Lot - 61%
- Same - Not A Lot - 14%
- More - 16%
- Less - 10%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who say they are listening less to AM/FM radio in the past year, % who say this is a main reason they listen less:
- Listening more to nonradio sources - 51%
- Lifestyle change - 40%
- Less time in a car - 39%
- Too many commercials - 33%
- Not enjoying programming - 25%
- Music is too predictable - 25%
- Personality/show no longer on local radio - 25%
- Don't hear favorite music - 25%
- Station I liked changed formats - 22%
- Too much DJ talk - 19%
- No DJs/personalities I care about - 19%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who say they are listening less to AM/FM radio in the past year, % who say more nonradio sources are the main reason they listen less:
- Male - 55%
- Female - 48%
- Gen Z - 73%
- Millennials - 55%
- Gen X - 57%
- Boomers - 42%
- Greatest - 29%
- Music Stations - 51%
- Spoken Word - 50%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who listen to AM/FM radio, the percentage that agree that radio's biggest benefit is its local feel:
- Strongly agree - 53%
- Agree - 33%
- Neutral - 10%
- Disagree- 1%
- Srongly disagree - 1%
- Don't know - 2%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who listen to AM/FM radio, % who say they feel a connection with local radio stations that they don't feel with other types of audio:
- Male - 52%
- Female - 59%
- Gen Z - 52%
- Millennials - 59%
- Gen X - 57%
- Boomers - 54%
- Greatest - 47%
- Music Stations - 58%
- Spoken Word - 52%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those who say they a feel a connection with local radio stations that they don’t with other types of audio, these are the stations they listen to most often:
- Hot AC - 66%
- Country - 60%
- AC - 57%
- Rock - 57%
- Classic Rock - 55%
- Classic Hits - 54%
- CHR - 54%
- News/Talk - 53%
- Sports - 52%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Fans of these types of radio stations say they would like to see their favorite radio stations be more active in their community:
- Country - 47%
- Rock - 46%
- Classic Hits - 42%
- Classic Rock - 42%
- Hot AC - 41%
- AC - 39%
- CHR - 39%
- News/Talk - 36%
- Sports - 26%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- How radio fans listen to their favorite stations:
- AM/FM radio in vehicle - 37%
- AM/FM radio at home, work or school - 17%
- Computer stream - 17%
- Mobile apps - 12%
- Smart speaker - 9%
- Podcasts - 4%
- Smart TV - 2%
- Other - 2%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Radio listening: Broadcast versus Digital:
- Broadcast - 54%
- Digital - 44%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Radio listening: Broadcast versus Digital (by generation):
- Gen Z - Broadcast - 48%; Digital - 49%; Other - 2%
- Millennials - Broadcast - 52%; Digital - 46%; Other - 2%
- Gen X - Broadcast - 51%; Digital - 47%; Other - 2%
- Boomers - Broadcast - 57%; Digital - 41%; Other - 2%
- Greatest - Broadcast - 69%; Digital - 28%; Other - 3%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Percentage of consumers who own a a regular radio in working condition where they live that they use:
- Male - 75%
- Female - 68%
- Gen Z - 73%
- Millennials - 61%
- Gen X - 67%
- Boomers - 78%
- Greatest - 86%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- 40% of radio listeners have a car with an in-car media system. Radio station formats in which listeners own a car with an in-car media system:
- Sports - 48%
- Rock - 46%
- Country - 42%
- CHR - 39%
- News/Talk - 39%
- Classic Rock - 37%
- Hot AC - 37%
- Classic Hits - 34%
- AC - 30%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Percentage of time spent in a car with each source on an average weekday:
- AM/FM car radio - 50%
- Sirius XM - 20%
- Owned music - 8%
- Streaming audio (Spotify, station app, etc.)- 10%
- Podcasts - 5%
- Audio books - 5%
- Other - 2%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Radio listeners whose car’s dashboard have the ability to display artist and title information:
- Yes- 82%
- No - 13%
- Don't know/NA - 15%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- 54% of radio listeners say they pay close or above average attention to their car dashboard's information display. By demographic:
- Male - 49%
- Female - 60%
- Gen Z - 72%
- Millennials - 62%
- Gen X - 58%
- Boomers - 49%
- Greatest - 34%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Among those with car dashboard having the ability to display artist/title infomation, the percentage “very interested” in each element:
- Current song title/artist - 67%
- Emergency weather info - 58%
- Breaking news alerts - 50%
- Breaking traffic alerts - 44%
- Artist/title of next song - 37%
- Current game score - 37%
- Name of show/DJ/host you’re listening to - 35%
- Name of the person being interviewed on a news or sports station - 30%
- Year the song came out that you’re listening to - 29%
- Phone/text info for the next contest/giveaway & time it will happen - 27%
- Small photo of the album w/ song you’re listening to - 26%
- Station contact info - 19%
- Features or guests/topics coming up next - 19%
- Community events info - 18%
- Small photo of the show/DJ/host you’re listening to - 17%
- Phone/text info for station fundraiser/charity event - 10%
- Phone number or website for store, service, or brand while ad is on - 8%
- Logo for a store, service, or brand while ad is on - 5%
- Timely advertiser sales/promotions - 4%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- What is the best argument to counter digital media with AM/FM radio? Percentage of listeners rating each argument "5" on a 5-point scale ("Resonates the most"):
- It’s FREE - No subscription required - 72%
- Music is curated by people, not bots - 63%
- Guaranteed human - 62%
- Music is chosen by humans, not algorithms- 60%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
- Daily audio consumption amounted to 3 hours and 54 minutes of daily listening across both ad supported and ad free platforms like radio, podcasts, streaming music services and satellite radio. In the fourth quarter of 2025, ad supported audio accounted for 63% of all listening.
(Source: Nielsen, The Record: 2025 Q4 U.S. Audio Listening Trends)
- Consumers spent 61% of their daily time in the fourth quarter with radio, 21% with podcasts, 15% with streaming music and 3% with satellite radio.
(Source: Nielsen, The Record: 2025 Q4 U.S. Audio Listening Trends)
- Nearly six in ten sports fans now consume sports-related content every single day. Their intensity makes sports one of the most reliable forces driving audience loyalty and advertiser investment. Radio continues to be central to that story.
(Source: Crowd React Media, State of Sports Media, 2025)
- 79% of sports podcast listeners say they love to have 'inside knowledge' about sports.
(Source: Vision Insights, Decoder, Aug.-Oct. 2025)
- 57% of avid sports fans that listen to sports on audio follow athletes/
influencers on social media such as X, Facebook, and Instagram.
(Source: Vision Insights, Decoder, Aug.-Oct. 2025)
- 69% of sports fans say they use every medium possible to stay connect to the sports they follow.
(Source: Vision Insights, Decoder, Aug.-Oct. 2025)
- Over a quarter of sports audiences consume four or more hours of sports content.
(Source: State of Sports Media, Crowd React Media, 2025)
- In contrast to AM/FM radio's 64% reach, streaming music services remain niche players with only a combined 14.4% ad-supported audio share between Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, SiriusXM and Amazon Music.
(Source: Edison Research, Share of Ear - Q4 2025)
- 80% of sports podcast listeners are more likely than the typical sport fan to trust brand sponsorships.
- The same is true for 71% of sports radio listeners.
(Source: Vision Insights, Decoder, Aug.-Oct. 2025)
- 48% of sports audio listeners say they're happy to support products recommended by their favorite hosts.
(Source: Audacy Music and Talent Study 2025)
- 50% of Gen X sports fans consume sports audio content to hear unique perspectives on sports content not covered in other media.
(Source: Edison Research, Sports Audio Report: Demographics at Play, 2024)
- 34% of Boomer sports fans consume sports audio content to hear unique perspectives on sports content not covered in other media.
(Source: Edison Research, Sports Audio Report: Demographics at Play, 2024)
- 66% of listeners have said that Spanish-language radio shapes their views.
(Source: Crowd Media, The State of Spanish Language Media, 2025)
- 55% of listeners have interacted with their local Spanish-language radio station in the past.
(Source: Crowd Media, The State of Spanish Language Media, 2025)
- Percentage of daily ad-supported audio listening time by Hispanics 18+ versus general audience 18+:
- Radio - 58% versus 63%
- Podcasts - 24% versus 21%
- Ad-supported streaming audio - 16% versus 11.4%
- Ad-supported satellite radio channels 2% versus 3%
(Source: : Edison Research, “Share of Ear” Q4 2025; Hispanic Adults 18+ , Adults 18+)
Percentage (%) of share of ad-supported audio time spent on AM/FM radio by age and demographic:
- Persons 25-54: 59%
- Women 25-54: 57%
- Men 25-54: 60%
- Hispanics 25-54: 61%
- African Americans 25-54: 70%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear", Q1 2025 - Q3 2025)
- 54% of radio listeners say thy pay close or above average attention to their car dashboard's information display. By demographic:
- Male - 49%
- Female - 60%
- Gen Z - 72%
- Millennials - 62%
- Gen X - 58%
- Boomers - 49%
- Greatest - 34%
(Source: Jacobs Media Strategies/Inside Radio Techsurvey 2026)
Q4 2025 Radio Formats Share of Total Audience Adults 18+ (OTA + Streaming):
- News/talk - 10.8%
- Adult Contemporary - 8.4%
- Country - 5.8%
- Classic Hits - 5.7%
- Classic Rock - 5.1%
- Urban Adult Contemporary - 5.1%
- All Sports - 5.1%
- Pop Contemporary Hit Radio - 4.3%
- Hot Adult Contemporary - 4.1%
- Contemporary Christian - 3.5%
- Mexican Regional - 3.0%
- Alternative - 2.8%
- Urban Contemporary|Hip-Hop/R&B - 2.7%
- Adult Hits - 2.7%
- All News - 2.7%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear", Q4 2025)
Radio's monthly reach of Hispanic consumers by age:
- Ages 18-34 - 89%
- Ages 35-49 - 95%
- Ages 50+ - 97%
(Source: Nielsen, Audio Today 2026:The power of radio among Hispanic consumers, January 2026)
In the past three months, Hispanic consumers compared to the general market, actions taken as a result of ad exposure:
- Made a purchase - 76% more likely from radio ad; 41% more likely from podcast ad
- Recommended a product to others - 126% more likely from radio ad; 96% more likely from podcast ad
- Visited a retail location - 49% more likely from radio ad; 95% more likely from podcast ad
- Posted/followed on social media - 109% more likely from radio ad; 116% more likely from podcast ad
(Source: Nielsen Scarborough USA+, Release 1 2025 (May 2025), Adults 18+, Hispanic Adults 18+)
Radio language preferences, among Spanish-dominant and bilingual Hispanic audiences:
- Equally in Spanish & English - 32%
- Mostly in Spanish - 44%
- Only in Spanish - 17%
- Mostly in English - 5%
- Only in English - 1%
(Source: Crowd Media, The State of Spanish Language Media, 2025)
Time of day that Spanish-language audiences listen to the radio:
- Morning - 64%
- Afternoon - 53%
- Midday - 33%
- Night - 16%
(Source: Crowd Media, The State of Spanish Language Media, 2025)
Time spent listening to AM/FM radio, by demographic:
- Hispanics 18+ - 58%
- African Americans 18+ - 73%
- Men 18+ - 64%
- Women 18+ - 63%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear,” Q1 2025 – Q4 2025)
Share of audio time spent between over-the-air AM/FM radio listening and digital streaming AM/FM radio listening, persons 25-54:
- Digital streaming AM/FM radio - 14%
- Over-the-air AM/FM radio - 86%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear,” Q4 2025 Persons 25-54)
Monthly media usage by teenagers 13-19:
- Broadcast radio - 90%
- YouTube - 75%
- TikTok - 58%
- Ad-supported Spotify - 26%
(Source: Critical Mass Media/iHeartMedia Gen Z Audio Study, August 2026)
How Gen Z listeners spend an average day with audio:
- Streaming music - 42%
- Music and music videos on YouTube - 20%
- AM/FM radio/radio streams - 16%
- Podcasts - 8%
- Other audio sources - 14%
(Source: Edison Research Gen Z Audio Study, June 2025)
63% of Gen Z have listened to or watched a podcast in the last month, an estimated 35 million people.
(Source: Edison Research Gen Z Audio Study, June 2025)
69% of Gen Z agree that audio has brought joy to their lives.
- 86% listen to music or consume podcasts to help boost their mood.
- 57% agree that audio inspires them.
- 63% agree that audio has helped them cope during difficult times.
- 61% agree that audio has helped them with their mental health.
(Source: Edison Research Gen Z Audio Study, June 2025)
The top three ways Gen Z discovers music:
- Discover music most often through social media - 19%
- Discover music most often through friends and family - 18%
- Discover music most often through recommendations or curated stations from online-only audio services - 18%
(Source: Edison Research Gen Z Audio Study, June 2025)
The top three ways Gen Z discovers podcasts:
- Discover podcasts most often through searching on YouTube - 28%
- Discover podcasts most often through social media posts - 26%
- Discover podcasts most often through friends or family - 19%
(Source: Edison Research Gen Z Audio Study, June 2025)
Consumers who listen to the radio by daypart:
- Morning (6AM - 10AM) - 62%
- Midday (10AM - 2PM) - 47%
- Afternoon (2PM - 6PM) - 39%
- Evening/Night (6PM - 12AM) - 19%
- Saturday - 43%
- Sunday - 36%
(Source: Crowd React Media, The State of Media 2025)
How sports audiences listen to sports programming:
- AM/FM radio - 59%
- On mobile or tablet - 53%
- Podcast - 36%
- Desktop/Laptop streaming - 29%
- SiriusXM - 24%
- Smart home device - 19%
(Source: Crowd React Media, The State of Sports Media 2025)
42% of Gen Z say that they are much more likely to pay attention to an advertisement if it is honest and transparent. Brands not taking this approach risk being ‘cringy’ among this group.
- 49% are much more likely to pay attention to an ad if it contains music they like.
- 49% are much more likely to pay attention to an ad if it makes them laugh.
(Source: Edison Research Gen Z Audio Study, June 2025)
Share of time spent with ad-supported audio among U.S. audiences, Hispanic Adults 18+:
- Radio - 58%
- Podcasts - 24%
- Ad-supported streaming audio - 16%
- Ad-supported satellite radio channels - 2%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear", Q4 2025; Hispanic Adults 18+)
Share of time spent listening to AM/FM radio and podcast sources among Americans ages 18-34:
- AM/FM radio - 45%
- Podcasts - 33%
- Other - 22%
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear", Q4 2025)
Share of time spent listening to audio sources, by those ages 18+:
- AM/FM radio - 33%.
- YouTube - 14%.
- Podcasts - 11%.
- SiriusXM - 7%.
- Owned music - 5%.
- TV music channels - 2%.
- Audio books - 4%.
- Other - 1%.
(Source: Edison Research, "Share of Ear", Q1 2025 - Q4 2025, Persons 18+)
Profile of the 45% of Americans who are weekly podcast consumers:
- 9% of total weekly podcast consumers are heavy users (listened to 6+ hours).
- Weekly podcast consumers consumed an average of 12.5 hours of podcasts.
- Weekly podcast consumers tuned into an average of 6.4 podcast episodes in the past week.
- On average, weekly podcast consumers listen to 4.3 different shows per week.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"When did you first start listening to podcasts?" – gender composition (%):
- Podcast Newcomers (past year) - Male - 40%; Female - 60%.
- Podcast Intermediates (2-3 years ago) - Male - 52%; Female - 48%.
- Podcast Pioneers (4+ years ago) - Male - 60%; Female - 40%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"When did you first start listening to podcasts?" – race/ethnicity composition (%):
- Podcast Newcomers (past year) - Black/African American - 34%; Hispanic - 11%.
- Podcast Intermediates (2-3 years ago) - Black/African American - 31%; Hispanic - 13%.
- Podcast Pioneers (4+ years ago) - Black/African American - 30%; Hispanic - 20%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"Have you started listening to any new podcasts over the past 3 months?" (% who said yes):
- Podcast Newcomers (past year) - 59%.
- Podcast Intermediates (2-3 years ago) - 54%.
- Podcast Pioneers (4+ years ago) - 56%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"Of all the podcast listening you do, what percentage would you say you do by yourself and with others?":
- No children in household - By myself, 87%; With others, 13%.
- Has children in household - By myself, 76%; With others, 24%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"From the list below, whose influencer matters most to you?" (% of weekly podcast consumers):
- Podcast hosts - 52%.
- Social media influencers - 24%
- TV/movie celebrities - 15%.
- AM/FM radio hosts - 10%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"When you start listening to a new podcast do you listen to only current episodes, or do you go back and listen to older ones?" (% who said ‘go back and listen to older ones’):
- Podcast Newcomers (past year) - 55%.
- Podcast Intermediates (2-3 years ago) - 56%.
- Podcast Pioneers (4+ years ago) - 63%.
- Men - 55%.
- Women - 63%.
- Total weekly podcast consumers - 59%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
% of weekly podcast consumers who use platform the most for podcast consumption, as of April 2026:
- YouTube - 44%.
- Spotify - 14%.
- Apple Podcasts - 5%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"Thinking of the last podcast you consumed, where were you when you consumed that podcast?" (total weekly pocast consumers):
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
38% of weekly podcast listeners listen using their smart TV, as of April 2026.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
'Chatcast’ vs. narrative podcasts
- Narrative podcasts are ones that focus on telling a story in a documentary style and often feature a host who narrates the story. Examples of Narrative podcasts include Radiolab or Serial.
- ‘Chatcast' podcasts are ones that focus on discussions or interviews between one or more regular hosts and/or guests, covering one or more topics. Examples of 'chatcasts' include The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
Total weekly podcast audience, 'Chatcast’ vs. narrative podcasts:
- Narrative podcasts - 56%.
- 'Chatcast' podcasts - 44%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
"Have you started listening to any new podcasts over the past 3 months" (% who said yes):
- Podcast consumers 18-34 - 61%.
- Podcast consumers 35-49 - 54%.
- Podcast consumers 50+ - 51%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
“Where have you found the most podcasts?” (% of weekly podcast consumers 18-34):
- TikTok - 17%.
- Instagram- 14%.
- Facebook - 9%.
- Twitter/X- 8%.
- Discord - 2%.
- Reddit - 1%.
- Snapchat - 1%.
(Source: Cumulus Media/Signal Hill Insights 16th edition Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report)
Top podcast publishers by monthly downloads (in millions of downloads):
- iHeart Podcasts - 150.91.
- VoxMedia - 23.54.
- Daily Wire - 21.71.
- Fox News Media - 21.10.
- Walt Disney - 20.68.
- PodcastOne - 19.13.
- Versant - 14.36.
- Barstool Sports - 13.20.
- Paramount - 11.04.
- Blaze Media - 9.04.
(Source: Podtrac, Top U.S. Publishers, July 2026) |
