At Mid-Year: Radio Listening Via Streaming Remains at 13%

The most recent Share of Ear® study from Edison Research finds that 13% of all AM/FM radio listening in the U.S. is via the radio station streams, while 87% of listening is done to a traditional, over-the-air radio signal.

Listeners can choose how they consume AM/FM radio content in the U.S., as the programming is now available through a variety of digital apps and devices. Radio listening is possible on their smartphones, computers, smart speakers, and through radio station websites, apps, and third party apps. The largest amount of AM/FM listening goes to the over-the-air (OTA) signals from devices such as car radios and clock radios, but listening to streams as a portion of all radio listening has grown over time. Halfway through 2023, our newest estimate is that listening has held at 13%, the same estimate as we saw at the end of 2022.

As Edison has argued consistently, the fight for the future of audio listening is on the phone and other digital devices. As such, tracking the proportion of all radio listening that happens on devices other than a tradition ‘radio set’ is crucial.

Edison Research’s Share of Ear® study is the only research that measures the entire world of audio in the U.S., looking at platform of listening, time of day, device on which the audio was consumed, the kind of programming, and the location of listening. The Share of Ear service measures what portion of listening to AM/FM content happens on a traditional radio receiver and how much is done on a digital device. The Share of Ear methodology fully represents the U.S. 13+ population, including not only those who are online but also those who are either not online or lightly online.