Radio still reaches 93% of U.S. adults every month, roughly 242 million people, more than connected TV, streaming, or any single social platform (Nielsen, Audio Today 2026). On a weekly basis, 84% of adults 18 and older tune in, ahead of social networking on smartphones (78%) and connected TV (74%). Yet the money is shifting fast: digital advertising hit a record 2.3 billion dollars in 2025 and now accounts for 24.4% of all U.S. radio ad revenue, while core over-the-air sales have slipped at a 2.2% annual rate since 2022 (RAB and Borrell Associates, 14th Annual Digital Benchmarking Report 2026). This analysis consolidates data from Nielsen, Edison Research, the RAB, the FCC, and 10 other primary sources to show where broadcast radio stands against its digital rivals in 2026.
TL;DR
- Radio reaches 93% of U.S. adults monthly, roughly 242 million people (Nielsen, Audio Today 2026).
- 84% of adults 18+ tune in weekly, beating smartphone social networking (78%) and connected TV (74%) (Nielsen, Audio Today 2026).
- Radio takes 61% of daily ad-supported audio listening time; podcasts 21%, streaming 15% (Nielsen, Audio Today 2026).
- U.S. radio digital ad revenue hit a record 2.3 billion dollars in 2025, or 24.4% of total radio ad revenue (RAB and Borrell Associates, 2026).
- Core over-the-air ad revenue fell at a 2.2% CAGR from 2022 to 2025 while digital grew 8.3% (RAB and Borrell Associates, 2026).
- iHeartMedia posted 3.87 billion dollars in FY2025 revenue (+0.3%); podcast revenue rose 26%, broadcast fell 4% (iHeartMedia, FY2025 results).
- The U.S. counted 15,686 AM/FM stations at the end of 2025; AM slid to 4,342, down 7% versus 2015 (FCC, Broadcast Station Totals, Dec 2025).
- 73% of U.S. drivers used AM/FM in-car in the past month, versus 48% online audio and 37% podcasts (Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026).
- Among drivers 18 to 34, 73% used in-car online audio and 55% listened to podcasts (Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026).
- UK weekly radio reach held at 86%, about 50 million adults and 1.015 billion listening hours per week (RAJAR, Q4 2025).
- The global radio broadcasting market is projected near 189 billion dollars in 2026, up 5.7% (The Business Research Company, 2026).
- SiriusXM ended Q3 2025 with 33 million subscribers and raised 2025 revenue guidance to 8.525 billion dollars (SiriusXM, Q3 2025 results).
1. Reach: radio’s audience is still the widest in audio
Broadcast radio’s core asset is not growth but breadth. Nielsen’s Audio Today 2026 puts monthly reach at 93% of U.S. adults, and its weekly figure of 84% of adults 18 and older still tops smartphone social networking, connected TV, and traditional TV. The reach premium is strongest among Black (93%) and Hispanic (94%) adults, making radio one of the few mass-reach channels that indexes above average with diverse audiences. Full topline figures are in the Nielsen Audio Today 2026 report.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly U.S. adult reach | 93% (~242 million people) | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Weekly reach, adults 18+ | 84% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Monthly reach, adults 18-34 | 89% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Monthly reach, Black adults | 93% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Monthly reach, Hispanic adults | 94% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Monthly reach (Comparable Metrics) | 92% of adults 18+ | Nielsen, Comparable Metrics Q2 2025 |
| Listeners tuning a network-affiliated station weekly | 93%+ | Nielsen, 2025 |
Context: reach is not the same as time spent. The same listeners are splitting more of their day across streaming and podcasts, which is where the pressure shows up (Sections 4 and 5).
2. The money: advertising is flat as digital carries the load
Radio’s revenue story in 2026 is a handoff. Broadcast spot advertising is in slow structural decline, and digital is the only growth engine keeping the industry roughly flat. Digital advertising reached 2.3 billion dollars in 2025, a record 24.4% of total radio ad revenue, according to the RAB and Borrell Associates’ 14th Annual Digital Benchmarking Report. The catch: about 75% of radio buyers still do not use stations’ digital products, so the runway is real but underused.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. radio digital ad revenue, 2025 | 2.3 billion dollars (record) | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Digital share of total radio ad revenue | 24.4% | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Digital revenue growth, 2025 | +7.8% | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Digital revenue forecast, 2026 | 2.5 billion dollars (+9.5%) | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Core over-the-air ad revenue, 2022-2025 | -2.2% CAGR | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Digital revenue, 2022-2025 | +8.3% CAGR | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Average station digital revenue, 2025 | 511,873 dollars | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Local radio ad revenue, 2025 (on-air + digital) | ~12.3 billion dollars | RAB / BIA Advisory Services, 2025 |
Outlier: BIA Advisory Services forecasts radio will post the smallest year-over-year decline of any traditional medium in 2026, about 0.9%, while streaming audio grows 9.2% (BIA Advisory Services, 2026).
3. Consolidation: fewer owners, thinner staffing, contested caps
Ownership is concentrating even as the raw station count edges up. The FCC logged 15,686 licensed AM and FM stations at the end of 2025, but the net gain came almost entirely from noncommercial FM and low-power services while AM and commercial FM kept shrinking. AM stations fell to 4,342, down 7% from 2015, per the FCC Broadcast Station Totals for December 2025. Cumulus Media filed its second Chapter 11 in 2026, and Audacy shed staff after its own bankruptcy, while seven companies petitioned the FCC to lift local ownership caps.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total licensed AM + FM stations, end-2025 | 15,686 | FCC, Broadcast Station Totals Dec 2025 |
| AM stations | 4,342 (down 41 YoY; -7% vs 2015) | FCC, Dec 2025 |
| Commercial FM stations | 6,589 (down 36 YoY) | FCC, Dec 2025 |
| Noncommercial FM stations | 4,755 (up 278 YoY) | FCC, Dec 2025 |
| Low-power FM stations | 1,994 (up 26 YoY) | FCC, Dec 2025 |
| iHeartMedia FY2025 revenue | 3.87 billion dollars (+0.3%) | iHeartMedia, FY2025 results |
| iHeartMedia broadcast radio revenue, 2025 | -4% (~860 stations) | iHeartMedia, FY2025 results |
| Radio broadcasting station employment | ~52,680 (May 2024) | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Context: iHeartMedia’s podcast revenue jumped 26% and digital rose 14% in 2025 even as its broadcast group fell, a microcosm of the whole industry’s rebalancing (iHeartMedia, FY2025 results). Announcer and DJ employment is projected to decline 2% from 2024 to 2034 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
4. The in-car battleground: AM/FM leads, but the lead is narrowing
The dashboard is radio’s last stronghold and its most contested one. Edison Research’s Infinite Dial 2026 finds 73% of drivers used AM/FM in their vehicles in the past month, still the top in-car source, but online audio has climbed to 48%, more than double its 21% share a decade ago. Among drivers aged 18 to 34, in-car online audio (73%) now matches AM/FM, and 55% listened to podcasts in the car, per the Infinite Dial 2026. Older listeners are the fastest-growing digital adopters, with monthly online audio among the 55-plus group jumping from 52% in 2024 to 70% in 2026.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Drivers using AM/FM in-car, past month | 73% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Drivers using online audio in-car | 48% (up from 21% a decade ago) | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Drivers using podcasts in-car | 37% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| 18-34 drivers using in-car online audio | 73% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| 55+ drivers using AM/FM in-car | 81% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| 55+ monthly online audio listening | 70% (up from 52% in 2024) | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Ad-supported in-car audio time held by AM/FM | 80%+ | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
Outlier: radio’s monetizable edge in the car is bigger than its usage edge. AM/FM still captures more than 80% of ad-supported in-car audio time, because much streaming there is ad-free subscription music (Nielsen, Audio Today 2026).
5. Radio versus the audio field: share of ear tightens
Zoom out to all audio and radio is defending share, not gaining it. Within ad-supported audio, Nielsen’s Audio Today 2026 gives radio 61% of daily listening time to podcasts’ 21% and streaming’s 15%. In Nielsen’s Q1 2025 quarterly read, radio held 66% of ad-supported time but ranged from 47% among 18-to-34s to 73% among listeners 35 and older. On spoken-word audio specifically, podcasting has now edged past radio at a 40% share, with weekly U.S. podcast reach at a record 45% (Edison Research, 2026). For the podcast side of this shift, see our podcasting statistics 2026; for the music side, our music streaming statistics 2026.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Radio share of daily ad-supported audio time | 61% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Podcast share of daily ad-supported audio time | 21% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Streaming share of daily ad-supported audio time | 15% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Radio share among adults 18-34 (Q1 2025) | 47% | Nielsen, The Record Q1 2025 |
| Radio share among adults 35+ (Q1 2025) | 73% | Nielsen, The Record Q1 2025 |
| Total daily audio consumption | 3 hours 54 minutes | Nielsen, The Record Q1 2025 |
| Weekly U.S. podcast reach | 45% (record) | Edison Research, 2026 |
| U.S. smart speaker ownership | 39% of adults (largest gain since 2021) | NPR / Edison Research, 2026 |
Context: online audio reached an all-time high of 81% of Americans 12+ monthly, about 233 million people, so the audio pie is growing even where radio’s slice shrinks (Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026). Roughly 60% of smart-speaker owners 18+ still listen to AM/FM on the device (NPR / Edison Research, 2026).
6. Global snapshot: reach holds abroad as the market grows
Outside the U.S., radio’s resilience looks similar. In the UK, RAJAR’s Q4 2025 data shows 86% of adults 15+ tuning in weekly, about 50 million people generating 1.015 billion listening hours per week. Digital platforms now account for 76% of the UK population tuning in weekly, and DAB alone holds roughly 56% of digital listening hours, per RAJAR and WorldDAB. Globally, market-research firms peg the radio broadcasting market near 189 billion dollars in 2026, though estimates diverge.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK weekly radio reach, Q4 2025 | 86% (~50 million adults 15+) | RAJAR, Q4 2025 |
| UK total weekly listening hours | 1.015 billion | RAJAR, Q4 2025 |
| UK adults reached weekly via digital platforms | 44 million (76%) | RAJAR, Q4 2025 |
| DAB share of UK digital listening hours | ~56% | WorldDAB / RAJAR, 2025 |
| Global radio broadcasting market, 2026 | ~189.24 billion dollars (+5.7%) | The Business Research Company, 2026 |
| Global radio advertising market, 2026 | ~29.09 billion dollars (+4.7%) | The Business Research Company, 2026 |
| U.S. terrestrial radio weekly reach, 2022 | 82% of Americans 12+ | Pew Research Center / Nielsen RADAR |
Divergence note: market-size estimates vary by firm and methodology, with some placing the 2026 global radio market closer to 178 billion dollars; treat these as directional, not precise (The Business Research Company; Business Research Insights, 2026).
7. AI voices enter the studio
The newest variable in radio economics is synthetic voice, arriving as 93% of Americans 12+ now recognize a generative AI brand and 57% have already used an AI tool, per Edison Research’s Infinite Dial 2026. Automation vendors are pitching AI hosting to fill overnight and small-market shifts, and platforms are testing conversational AI DJs. Radio-automation firm nextKast launched an AI virtual-hosting library with custom voice cloning, and SiriusXM built will.i.am’s RAiDiO.FYI around real-time AI DJs, as Radio Ink reported. Listener tolerance is uneven: audiences accept AI for weather, traffic, and pre-recorded reads far more readily than for personality-driven drive-time shows. The same consent-based AI voice cloning and text-to-speech tools reshaping podcasts are now reaching broadcast.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Americans 12+ aware of generative AI brands | 93% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Americans 12+ who have used AI tools | 57% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| AI users who are weekly online-audio listeners | 87% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Projected change in U.S. announcer/DJ jobs, 2024-2034 | -2% | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| SiriusXM subscribers, Q3 2025 | 33 million | SiriusXM, Q3 2025 results |
| SiriusXM 2025 revenue guidance | 8.525 billion dollars | SiriusXM, Q3 2025 results |
Context: AI adoption is a cost lever for a business under margin pressure, not a reach story. It ties radio’s labor economics to the same voice technology covered across our audio coverage.
Summary: The Radio Industry by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. monthly radio reach | 93% (~242 million adults) | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| U.S. weekly reach, adults 18+ | 84% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Radio share of daily ad-supported audio time | 61% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| Podcast / streaming share of ad-supported audio | 21% / 15% | Nielsen, Audio Today 2026 |
| U.S. radio digital ad revenue, 2025 | 2.3 billion dollars (record) | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Digital share of total radio ad revenue | 24.4% | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Core over-the-air ad revenue, 2022-2025 | -2.2% CAGR | RAB / Borrell Associates, 2026 |
| Local radio ad revenue, 2025 | ~12.3 billion dollars | RAB / BIA Advisory Services, 2025 |
| Total U.S. AM + FM stations, end-2025 | 15,686 | FCC, Dec 2025 |
| AM stations | 4,342 (-7% vs 2015) | FCC, Dec 2025 |
| iHeartMedia FY2025 revenue | 3.87 billion dollars (+0.3%) | iHeartMedia, FY2025 |
| iHeartMedia podcast revenue growth | +26% | iHeartMedia, FY2025 |
| Drivers using AM/FM in-car, past month | 73% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| 18-34 drivers using in-car online audio | 73% | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Monthly online audio, all Americans 12+ | 81% (~233 million) | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2026 |
| Weekly U.S. podcast reach | 45% (record) | Edison Research, 2026 |
| U.S. smart speaker ownership | 39% of adults | NPR / Edison Research, 2026 |
| UK weekly radio reach, Q4 2025 | 86% (~50 million) | RAJAR, Q4 2025 |
| Global radio broadcasting market, 2026 | ~189 billion dollars | The Business Research Company, 2026 |
| SiriusXM subscribers, Q3 2025 | 33 million | SiriusXM, Q3 2025 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating figures from primary industry reports, government filings, company earnings releases, and named survey research published in 2025 and 2026, cross-referencing revenue and market-size claims across multiple firms and flagging any older or divergent data inline.
- Nielsen, Audio Today 2026: How America Listens (March 2026), and The Record Q1 2025 U.S. audio listening trends and Comparable Metrics Q2 2025 - nielsen.com
- Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2026 (March 2026) - edisonresearch.com
- Radio Advertising Bureau and Borrell Associates, 14th Annual Digital Benchmarking Report (February 2026) - rab.com
- Federal Communications Commission, Broadcast Station Totals as of December 31, 2025 - fcc.gov
- iHeartMedia, Inc., Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (March 2026)
- SiriusXM Holdings, Q3 2025 Earnings Release
- RAJAR, Data Release Q4 2025 (UK), and WorldDAB, DAB share of UK digital listening (2025) - worlddab.org
- BIA Advisory Services, U.S. radio revenue forecasts (2025-2026)
- The Business Research Company, Radio Broadcasting Global Market Report 2026, and Radio Advertising Global Market Report 2026
- Business Research Insights, Global Radio Broadcasting Market (2026)
- Pew Research Center, Trends and Facts on Audio and Podcasting (State of the News Media)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Broadcasting employment and Announcers/DJs Occupational Outlook
- NPR and Edison Research, Smart Audio Report / smart speaker ownership (2026)
- nextKast and SiriusXM (RAiDiO.FYI), AI voice hosting in radio, via Radio Ink (2025-2026)
Data watch: Edison Research publishes The Infinite Dial annually each spring, so the next edition is expected around March 2027 and will refresh the online audio, podcast, and smart-speaker figures cited above. Nielsen’s Audio Today report and RAJAR’s quarterly UK data releases follow a similar recurring cadence, with the next RAJAR release and the next annual Audio Today update expected to arrive before this page’s next quarterly review.
Last updated: July 5, 2026.
We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.