U.S. radio broadcasters, grappling with persistent ad market softness, found a dose of "rugged optimism" at the Forecast 2026 conference this week at New York City's Harvard Club, where executives from Cox Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) rallied around the medium's irreplaceable community roots as a defense against Big Tech's algorithmic dominance.
Co-chaired by Cox Media Group Radio President Rob Babin and Nexstar Networks President Sean Compton, the sold-out event—produced by Radio Ink and Radio + Television Business Report—drew C-suite leaders, Wall Street analysts, and policymakers for unfiltered sessions on revenue trends, regulatory hurdles, and digital pivots.
Opening remarks from Radio Ink President Deborah Parenti framed the day's theme: In an era of AI-driven disruption and economic uncertainty, radio's authentic, local voices—trusted by 84% of listeners per Audacy data—remain a competitive moat that platforms like Meta and Google can't replicate.
A standout session zeroed in on Gen Z's evolving media habits, backed by a November 2025 CivicScience study revealing that 68% of 18- to 24-year-olds crave "honest and conversational" news formats—unscripted, relatable narratives that echo a casual chat rather than scripted broadcasts.
This preference dovetails perfectly with radio's strengths: 93% of young adults value factual accuracy and honesty in journalism (per Pew Research), qualities local stations deliver through on-the-ground reporting on everything from school boards to traffic snarls.
Broadcasters were urged to amplify this edge via bite-sized audio extensions—5- to 15-minute podcasts, TikTok voiceovers, and Reels-style clips repurposed from air shifts—to snag Gen Z's fragmented attention.
Edison Research data shared at the conference showed under-30 podcast listenership up 12% year-over-year, with local news pods boasting 20% higher retention than national fare. As one attendee quipped, "Gen Z isn't anti-audio; they're anti-artifice—radio's neighborhood reporters are the authenticity hack we've been waiting for."
Yet, challenges persist: Offline media like radio reaches just a sliver of Gen Z directly (per Statista), often via car commutes or parental exposure, underscoring the need for aggressive digital bundling to bridge the gap.
CivicScience also noted genre shifts, with comedy, true crime, and pop culture pods gaining 2 percentage points since 2024, while news/politics dipped amid post-election burnout—hinting at opportunities for lighter, community-tied content to ease listeners into heavier topics.
The conference's bullish bent was reinforced by S&P Global's October 2025 Broadcast Outlook, which anticipates a 3-5% lift in non-political ad spending for H2 2025, thanks to normalized comps sans the 2024 election's $2.5 billion windfall and rising over-the-air (OTA) sports integrations. S&P projects radio's total ad revenue stabilizing at $11.24 billion for 2025 (down slightly from 2024's political-fueled peak), with digital channels—podcasting, streaming, and connected audio—surging 6.5% to $1.75 billion, en route to $2.31 billion by 2030.
Overall, S&P envisions radio hitting $4.2 billion in annual ad revenue by year-end, buoyed by a 22% podcast ad boom crossing $1 billion—provided stations hybridize linear with CTV and voice tech. BIA Advisory Services echoed this, forecasting OTA radio revenue up 1.83% in 2026 (reversing 2025 dips) and digital climbing 5.01%, fueled by midterm political spends projected at billions across 36 gubernatorial and 33 Senate races.