Perception vs. Reality: Eight Things Brands Get Completely Wrong About AM/FM Radio
The perception of media audiences is skewed by prevalent myths in the ad community. Duncan Stewart, Director of Research, Technology, Media & Telecommunications at Deloitte, puts it best: “Why do people think that nobody listens to radio anymore? Because there is a narrative that new media kills old media, so nobody bothers to look at evidence that doesn’t fit the narrative.”
Let’s challenge the narrative and look at some evidence. Using data from research leaders like Nielsen, and Edison Research, we disprove eight of the biggest misperceptions brands have about AM/FM radio.
Here are the realities of consumer media behaviors:
Perception #1: “No one listens to AM/FM radio.”
According to Nielsen’s Q1 2025 Comparable Metrics, 87% of persons 18+ are reached by AM/FM radio weekly, nearly twice what advertisers believe.
Perception #2: “No one under 35 listens to AM/FM radio anymore.”
In reality, persons 18-34 is the largest AM/FM radio listening demographic! Over 59 million persons 18-34 listen to AM/FM radio weekly.
Perception #3: “Audience shares to Pandora/Spotify are larger than AM/FM radio.”
Edison Research reports AM/FM radio is fourteen times larger than ad-supported Spotify and ad-supported Pandora.
Marketers and agencies told Advertiser Perceptions they feel audience shares of AM/FM radio are pretty similar to Pandora and Spotify. The buzz is wrong. The share of time spent listening to AM/FM radio dominates the two streaming audio services.
Perception #4: “In the world of the connected car, the number one thing people do in their vehicles is stream online radio on their smartphones.”
AM/FM radio still rules the road. Among ad-supported audio, AM/FM radio has a massive 85% share of in-car time spent.
Perception #5: “Today’s optimal media plan: Put all of your money into connected TV, TV, and social/digital.”
Adding AM/FM radio to the TV and digital plan generates +18% lift in incremental reach for the same spend. Radio elevates any media plan.
Perception #6: “The optimal audio buy is Spotify, Pandora, and podcasts.”
According to Edison Research, in a typical day, digital audio only reaches less than a third of America. A digital audio-only buy misses 70% of America. AM/FM radio reaches nearly two-thirds of America.
Perception #7: “I would love to consider audio. However, there’s a total lack of ROI and sales lift evidence for AM/FM radio.”
According to Nielsen’s Global MMM Benchmarks, AM/FM radio ranks #2 of ten media in return on investment. A major attribution study of dozens of advertisers reveals radio ads generate an +14% increase in site traffic.
Perception #8: “AM/FM radio cannot be measured.”
Anything that can measured in TV and digital can be measured in audio! There are a variety of measurement options for audio including brand lift studies, audio creative testing, sales effect studies, retail location visitation, and site and search attribution.
The prevailing narrative is wrong. Know the realities:
- 87% of Americans are reached by AM/FM radio weekly, nearly twice what advertisers perceive.
- Persons 18-34 is the largest AM/FM radio listening demographic. Over 59 million persons 18-34 listen to AM/FM radio weekly.
- The audience share of AM/FM radio is 14X larger than ad-supported Spotify and ad-supported Pandora.
- AM/FM radio rules ad-supported audio in the car with a stunning 85% share.
- AM/FM radio boosts campaign reach, adding over 22 points of incremental reach beyond TV, CTV, and digital.
- In a typical day, digital audio reaches only a third of America. AM/FM radio reaches nearly two-thirds of America.
- Nielsen reports AM/FM radio ROI ranks #2 of ten media. On average, AM/FM radio generates a +14% lift in site traffic across 17 campaigns.
- Anything that can measured in digital and TV can be measured in audio with Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® measurement solutions.