Radio Listening In Europe Continues To Decline

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has published its latest Audience Trends: Radio report, revealing that radio still reaches the vast majority of Europeans each week, yet both reach and listening time have continued to erode over the past five years. 

Weekly radio reach across Europe stands at 81.3%, a drop of 2.7 percentage points compared to five years ago. Average daily listening time is now 2 hours and 10 minutes, down 15 minutes from five years earlier and a full 50 minutes less than 20 years ago. 

The report, which analyses listening habits across multiple European markets with a focus on five-year trends and age-group differences, underscores radio’s enduring strength as a mass medium while highlighting gradual shifts in consumption patterns. Younger audiences (15–24) show notably lower weekly reach at around 71%, though public service broadcasters continue to play a key role overall. 

Supporting details in the report point to modest but consistent declines across most markets, with digital audio platforms and changing lifestyles contributing to reduced traditional radio use. Despite these trends, radio retains significant cultural and informational relevance, particularly through public stations that often rank among the top listened-to outlets in the majority of countries surveyed. 

The full Radio Trends Report 2026 is available to EBU members and provides deeper breakdowns by country, age, and platform.