Listeners age 13+ in the U.S. spend 59% of their daily, ad-supported audio time with AM/FM radio, more time than with all other ad-supported audio sources combined, including YouTube, podcasts, and ad-supported streaming services. AM/FM radio is the top ad-supported audio source for all ages in the U.S., including Gen Z (age 13-24) who spend 33% of their daily ad-supported audio time with AM/FM radio, more than for any other ad-supported platform.
The finding comes from Edison Research’s Share of Ear® dataset and is the first in a four-part series to be released through Edison’s Weekly Insights email on the power of traditional AM/FM radio in the U.S.
With an abundance of research on digital media recently, the series serves to remind the audio industry of the strengths of traditional radio, and the first data point focuses on ad-supported audio. The Share of Ear service provides measurement of all audio sources in the U.S., but it’s important to remember that only a portion of them are available to advertisers.
Gen Z audio consumers are well-known to favor their mobile phones for audio consumption, so it may come as a surprise to learn that 33% of the total time they spend on a daily basis with ad-supported audio goes to AM/FM radio, which includes over-the-air broadcasts and streams.
When considering only ad-supported audio, the next closest platform for Gen Z is YouTube, which is where they spend 31% of their daily audio time. Streaming services represent 20% of their total ad-supported audio time, and podcasts account for 15%.
Beyond Gen Z, AM/FM radio remains the number one source of ad-supported audio for all other ages. Americans age 25-54 spend over half of their daily audio time (55%) with AM/FM radio (including over-the-air and streams), and Americans age 55+ spend the overwhelming majority of their ad-supported audio time (78%) with AM/FM radio (including over-the-air and streams).
