Nielsen: Radio, Podcasts Capture 83% of Ad-Supported Audio

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, November 6, 2026 | 12:25pm CT

Nielsen

Radio and podcasts accounted for 83% of daily ad-supported audio listening time in the third quarter of 2026, according to Nielsen's latest edition of "The Record," which draws on Nielsen and Edison Research data.

U.S. consumers spent an average of three hours and 55 minutes daily with audio. Within ad-supported listening, streaming music services accounted for 15% of time. The analysis excludes music and music video consumption on YouTube.

Radio's monthly reach totaled more than 242 million U.S. adults, or 92%, ahead of TV-connected devices at 90%, smartphones at 87% and live and time-shifted television at 85%. Radio reached 92% of Black adults, 93% of Hispanic adults and 87% of adults ages 18-34.

Approximately 65% of adult radio listening occurred away from home, primarily in vehicles, rising to 73% during weekday drive times. AM/FM radio represented more than 80% of ad-supported audio listening in the car.

News/Talk remained the leading radio format, capturing a 10.2% share of total listening among adults 18 and older and 11.5% among those 35 and older. Adult Contemporary led music formats with a 7.1% share among adults 18 and older, increasing to 7.9% among adults 18-34.

Country and Classic Hits each earned a 5.8% share among adults 18 and older, followed by Classic Rock at 5.2% and Urban AC/R&B at 5.0%. All Sports captured 4.5%, while Pop CHR accounted for 4.1%.

Among adults 18-34, Country and Pop CHR each posted a 6.4% share. Hot AC and Classic Hits each attracted 5.5%, while Urban Contemporary/Hip-Hop/R&B reached 4.5% and Alternative earned 4.4%.

Spoken-word programming commanded a substantially larger portion of listening to AM/FM station streams. News/Talk, All Sports and All News collectively accounted for approximately 36% of station streaming among adults 18 and older, compared with roughly 17% of total radio listening.

News/Talk led station streaming among adults 18 and older with a 22.1% share, rising to 24.2% among adults 35 and older. All Sports was the top streamed format among adults 25-54 at 13.0% and accounted for 10.3% among adults 18 and older.

Among adults 18-34, AC led station streaming at 13.1%, followed by All Sports at 11.9%, News/Talk at 8.5% and Pop CHR at 7.2%.

The format findings include both over-the-air listening and digital streams of AM/FM stations, with streaming shares also reported separately. "The Record" tracks average daily audio usage and listening shares across U.S. audiences.