Report: PPM Audiences See Significant Rise in Drive Times

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, March 3, 2025 | 2:42pm CT

Cumulus Media and Westwood One

Nielsen has released all of its January, 2025 Nielsen PPM markets (except for West Palm Beach). There are significant increases in listening across demographics and time periods. This audience growth is due to Nielsen's three-minute qualifier modernization which provides a significantly more comprehensive and realistic definition of AM/FM radio's audience and their listening behavior.

This week's Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog examines the key findings from the first survey with Nielsen's three-quarter qualifier modernization.

• Drive times and weekends experience the greatest growth

• Weekends and drive times have the greatest PPM audience growth

• AM/FM radio's listening profile now skews younger: Every major buying demographic has a higher composition of listening

• Format shares remain stable

• Nielsen Nationwide: Total U.S. AM/FM radio listening is up 3%

• For national marketers, top market indices increase because of the PPM three-minute listening qualification

Check out the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group blog post by Pierre Bouvard here.