New Nielsen Report: % Of AM Listening By State And Your DMA Reveals Strength Of Listening Across The Country
Since May, broadcasters have urged elected officials to support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act to keep free, local radio in cars. The NAB has touted how AM radio is the backbone of our country’s emergency alert system and keeping AM in cars protects Americans from risk.
In support of these efforts, Nielsen revealed compelling insights on the power of the AM radio audience from their Fall 2022 survey:
- 82,346,800 Americans listen to AM radio monthly
- One out of three American AM/FM radio listeners are reached monthly by AM radio
- 57% of the AM radio audience listens to News/Talk stations, the very outlets that Americans turn to in times of crisis and breaking local news
In June, Nielsen released a deep dive on the vitality of AM radio in local markets with new data at the state and local DMA level.
Nielsen: AM radio listening by states and local DMAs
Based on the Fall 2022 survey, this new report depicts the % of the DMA audience that listens to AM radio in a month. AM listening for every state is also detailed. Download the PDF here.
The state and DMA analyses are based on all radio stations in the U.S., not just Nielsen subscribers. (The section that reports AM listening by metro is based on Nielsen radio station subscribers.)
Key takeaways:
- States with the largest proportion of AM listening tend to be from the Midwest with a few from the West Coast
- The states with the largest AM radio usage have a wide variety of sizes and broad geographical diversity
Top DMAs with the highest % of AM radio listening
Nielsen’s Designated Market Area (DMA) geography assigns every county in the U.S. to only one market. TV viewing in the county determines DMA assignment.
The TV market with largest proportion of viewing from each county dictates the county associated to the DMA. The DMA geography is typically larger than the radio metro. To see which counties are assigned to a particular DMA, utilize Nielsen’s free DMA tool here.
Key takeaways:
- DMAs with the largest proportion of AM listening tend to be smaller, rural, and from the Midwest
- The DMAs with strong AM radio usage have a wide variety of sizes and broad geographical diversity