In a report published in July 2020, Edison Research developed a study that took an in-depth look at the share of time Americans spend with all audio platforms including radio and streaming audio such as Pandora. This Share of Ear study shows that AM/FM listening has fallen to 42% of total listening with the remaining 58% going to all other audio options such as streaming audio, YouTube, satellite, podcasting, etc.
While AM/FM listening has decreased it is still the predominant form of ad supported audio listening and should still be considered for audio media placement. We do however need to look at how listening has shifted and what other audio formats should be layered with a traditional radio buy. The growth of digital audio will allow for greater demographic and geographic targeting but traditional radio should still be include for maximum audience reach.
