Borrell Associates forecasts a resilient 2026 for radio advertising, with the industry facing the smallest year-over-year decline among traditional media—just 0.9%—despite conflicting predictions elsewhere. The overall U.S. local advertising market is expected to grow 3%.
This relative stability stems from radio's successful integration of digital offerings, which offset declines in traditional spot sales.
iHeartMedia stands out as the only major publicly held media company reporting total ad revenue growth through Q3 2025, thanks to a 12% digital increase that countered a 5% drop in core radio revenue. Other firms, like Beasley Media Group (digital up 4.6% amid 15.8% core decline) and Townsquare (digital up 2.6% despite 11% core drop), show similar trends.
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| Gordon Borrell |
Streaming audio is projected to grow 9.2% in 2026—faster than OTT video or any other tracked format—driven by platform partnerships, cross-media buying, and radio inventory in digital marketplaces.
Radio's future success will hinge less on spot ad rebounds and more on strong digital sales execution, bundling, and positioning.
When combined effectively, radio and digital enhance advertiser recall, brand awareness, and multichannel reach.AI is reshaping expectations, with 10% of small and medium-sized businesses already using it for marketing recommendations and 23% planning to adopt it soon. Radio sellers must adapt to automation-driven budget shifts and educate advertisers on the evolving media mix, ROI strategies, and AI tools to seize new opportunities.