AM/FM Radio offers broad reach that will fill in the gaps of high percentages of the U.S. population not reached by alternative audio platforms.
Radio reaches 225 million adults 18+ every week
(Source: Nielsen Audience Insights Q3 2025)
Traditional radio offers advertisers an established, audited audience ratings system (Nielsen Audio); online audio services make claims based on a variety of untested and questionable metrics.
Radio is the go-to source in weather events, emergencies: Consumers turn to AM/FM radio during emergencies and weather events when access to television and cable signals fails. FM chip-enabled smartphones also help to deliver information during these same emergencies.
Insures Exposure to Ad Messages: On AM/FM radio, everyone hears the same content (both programming and advertising) and advertisers run messages tied to specific content in specific time periods; customized online audio sites allow everyone to listen to their own individualized station, so there's no way to buy against specific content at a specific moment. Airing schedules on both AM/FM and digital/online and/or satellite insures that target audiences will be exposed to the advertiser message.
Radio has a high out-of-home presence, making it an optimal vehicle for retailers and other advertisers who need to reach the on-the-go consumer right before they shop:
Among Adults 18+ who have driven/ridden in a car in the past month
73% have ever listened to AM/FM radio in their primary vehicle
48% have ever used owned online audio in their primary vehicle
37% have ever listened to podcasts
26% have ever used a CD player in their primary vehicle
24% have ever used SiriusXM in their primary vehicle
20% have ever used an MP3/digital files
(Source: The Infinite Dial 2026 - Edison Research/SiriusXM Media)
Audio works across key commercial levers
Campaigns with audio outperform those without audio on profit (+75%), trust (+81%), price insensitivity (+81%) and customer acquisition (+19%). Audio's profit contribution also scales with media spend. Across 14 measures, the average uplift for all campaigns with audio was +22%, in comparison to campaigns without audio. See study results here. Audio nearly doubles profit for emotionally driven advertising
The data also makes the creative case. Audio nearly doubles the profit generated by emotionally driven campaigns, and its effect compounds when it is paired with distinctive brand assets and run consistently over time. Over three years, 6% of nonemotional campaigns achieve incremental profit, while 33% of emotionally driven campaigns can say the same.
(Source: The Secret to Profit and Trust: Audio, June 2026)
Be sure to read this article: Time With Radio is Time Well Spent. In Spanish: El Tiempo con la Radio es tiempo bien invertido.
