Industry News

WWO: AM/FM Reach Dominates Ad-Supported Digital Audio

This week’s Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog addresses the effectiveness of advertising on AM/FM radio versus ad-supported digital audio using data from Edison Research’s ongoing Share of Ear study. The gist of the post is that equating AM/FM radio reach with ad-supported digital audioimg is a mistake. Some of the findings include: 1) In a typical day, ad-supported digital audio reaches less than a third of America while AM/FM radio reaches two-thirds of America. Combined, ad-supported digital audio and AM/FM radio reach 74% of the U.S. daily; 2) Between ad-supported Spotify and AM/FM radio, most people only listen to AM/FM radio; 3) Between ad-supported Pandora and AM/FM radio, most people only listen to AM/FM radio; 4) The U.S. ad-supported audio clock: Podcasts and AM/FM radio represent nearly 90% of tuning minutes; 5) With a towering in-car share of 86%, AM/FM radio is the primary way to reach consumers on the path to purchase; The proportion of AM/FM radio in-car listening has surged, returning to pre-pandemic norms. See the full blog post here.