Nielsen: Radio Continues To Best Medium For Reach

Nielsen has released its latest report on The State of Audio in 2018 and again the report indicates radio continues to lead all media in reach.  The new report states 270 million Americans 6+ listen to radio each week.

Brad Kelly, managing director of Nielsen Radio, calls AM/FM the blue blazer of the media universe.

"Who would have believed 100 years after its debut AM/FM radio would continue to top the charts as the medium that reaches more consumers each week than any other," says Kelly.

Broadcast radio specifically continues to profoundly enrich the lives of listeners and create value for advertisers. Each week, more Americans tune into AM/FM radio (93%) than watch television, or use smartphones, tablets or computers. At the same time, digital streaming offers consumers even more ways to listen across many of those same devices.

By all accounts audio-based media is in the midst of a new age, according to Nielsen.  In today’s harried, time-starved world, compelling audio content and expanding delivery options are helping drive consumer usage.

Some specifics:

• According to Nielsen’s ratings data comparing adults 18+, AM/FM radio continues to reach more people each week than any other medium in the U.S. at 228.5 million consumers, compared with 216.5 million for TV (live, DVR and time-shifted), 203.8 million for app/web on a smartphone, and 127.6 million for video on a smartphone. 
• Looking at the audio landscape, broadcast radio’s weekly reach of 228.5 million also outpaces the 68.5 million for streaming audio, 35.7 million using satellite radio and 21.9 million consuming podcasts.

Radio plays a special role in American culture. Its audiences are as varied and diverse as our national makeup. All generations, demographics and ethnicities are tuning in. That fact has not gone unnoticed by the big national brands. Billion dollar advertisers are re-discovering the power of radio and how it can augment, supplement and amplify their media mix.

New ad dollars are flowing to the medium, and major national brand names that have been absent from commercial radio for decades can once again be heard on AM/FM radio.