Despite not being an election season, where voters would normally tune in, in larger numbers to hear pros and cons about political candidates, a new report from Radio Ink says News/Talk is still the most listened-to genre in the country.
“Its not all just about politics. It’s about consumer news, insurance cost, is there a storm off the coast ready to hit the state, all of this is why people continue to listen to talk radio,” said Jon Jopling, station owner of Tallahassee Real Talk, 93.3fm.
As for top radio formats, News/Talk being number one, followed by Adult Contemporary then country music. For younger audiences, All-Sports formats continued to show growth among 18–34-year-olds.
But other outlets where Americans are listening to their news and topics are podcast.
According to media research firms Nielsen and Edison Research podcast shows continue to hold their ground, particularly among younger listeners.
Nielsen and Edison said Americans listened to an average of 3 hours and 50 minutes of audio each day in the second quarter of overall audio listening across platforms.
Even though many News/Talk formats have switched over the to the FM dial from AM, AM listenership remains a got to for radio listeners.
Among ages, older age groups listen to radio more but currently, younger demographics from ages 18-34 are listening longer than the 35 and older crowd.
Nielsen and Edison also said streaming services held their own and didn’t decline but didn’t see much of an increase either.
Christian radio still has good numbers as well. “
“While radio still enjoys a lead, data continues to highlight on-demand audio’s stability and stickiness with younger consumers, reinforcing the need for traditional radio brands to adopt cross-platform strategies that balance over-the-air product with growing digital formats,” said Radio Ink.
