The news: Advertisers are underestimating traditional radio’s reach amid the medium’s strong audience base of younger consumers and share of ad-supported audio time.

• Reach: Advertisers think that AM/FM radio reaches only 43% of US adults per week, according to Advertiser Perceptions. However, Nielsen finds that it actually reaches 86%, as cited by Westwood One.
• Audience share: 91% of US consumers ages 25 to 54 listen to AM/FM radio, as do 87% of those ages 18 to 34, per Nielsen.
• Car time: Radio captures 70% of ad-supported in-car audio time—more than the combined 30% for podcasts, streaming music, YouTube, and SiriusXM, per Edison Research.

Despite this high potential for reach, US radio ad spending will slowly but steadily decline in coming years, dropping from $10.12 billion in 2026 to $9.05 billion by 2030, per our forecast.

What it means: There’s a disconnect between actual audience behavior and marketing assumptions. This misunderstanding goes beyond an image problem—if planners materially underestimate radio’s reach, they can’t allocate dollars correctly.

Hesitation to include radio in media mixes now may be partially driven by nostalgia and an assumption that, as digital formats like streaming and connected TV (CTV) grow, it isn’t as relevant.

• Digital audio needs to include radio despite evolving formats, as podcasts’ and audio streaming’s smaller shares prove that adding radio into media mixes can expand reach.
• Radio’s high share of ad-supported in-car audio time exemplifies how the medium’s accessibility and consumer loyalty to local channels can drive consistent usage.

Radio could also be suffering from how advertisers categorize media outcomes—if budgets are only focusing measurement efforts on digital, social, and CTV, traditional radio can get separated out from channels with similar awareness and frequency goals. This risks leaving it out of consideration before performance is even measured.

Recommendations for marketers: Audit assumptions about radio before reallocating budget, and evaluate the channel based on incrementality and business outcomes.

• Brands with brick-and-mortar locations can offer location-based in-store offers, while those with online stores can promote limited-time discounts or bundles aligned with show slots.
• Explore partnerships with smaller radio stations rather than putting all spending into syndicated shows, as consumers’ interest in local stations can drive deeper attention and a motivation to be supportive of sponsoring businesses.

In addition, optimize ad timing for goal audiences by evaluating which audience types are tuning in to different show slots and timing product promotions. This includes marketing premium brands for early-morning, affluent professionals on their commutes, and household essentials and entertainment products for midday, at-home listeners.

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