Understanding today’s complex media landscape means advertisers need granular data to reach the right audiences through the right channels. The Record is a quarterly report card on how U.S. consumers spend their listening day, fueled by Nielsen and Edison Research. The Record returns this quarter with a closer look at the time Americans spend with ad-supported audio, and at the medium that still leads it: radio.
The Q3 Audio Overview
U.S. consumers spend nearly four hours a day (3 hours and 55 minutes) with audio. That time is spread across more platforms and devices than ever, yet the core of the ad-supported audio day has barely moved.
When zeroing in on the ad-supported audio universe, AM/FM radio (spanning both over-the-air and digital streaming) and podcasts remain the most important pieces of an audio marketing campaign. 83% of all daily ad-supported audio time goes to radio and podcasts, while only 15% goes to streaming music services.
For media planners, the takeaway is the same as last time, only stronger: an audio campaign built without both radio and podcasts misses the vast majority of the daily ad-supported audio audience.
The power of radio: everyone, everywhere
Radio’s lead in ad-supported listening is built on reach no other platform matches. Each month, radio reaches 92% of U.S. adults, more than 242 million people. That is ahead of TV-connected devices (90%), smartphones (87%) and live and time-shifted TV (85%). Radio’s reach holds across audiences, too: 92% of Black adults, 93% of Hispanic adults and 87% of adults 18-34.
Radio also meets listeners where buying decisions happen. About 65% of adult radio listening takes place away from home, mostly in the car, and that rises to 73% during weekday drive times. In the car, AM/FM radio accounts for more than 80% of all ad-supported audio time.
And that reach pays off. In Nielsen’s Global Compass benchmarks, radio delivered a weighted ROI of $2.00, second only to social media and ahead of TV, display, search and CTV. Read more in Everyone. Everywhere.
A quarterly snapshot: Edison Research Share of Ear®
This chart shows how U.S. audiences spent their time with ad-supported audio in Q3 2026.
Analysis does not include listening to music/music videos on YouTube. Source: Edison Research at SSRS, “Share of Ear®” Q3 2026.
Tracking radio listening by format
Across the top 15 largest-reaching AM/FM radio formats, Q3 brought steady music listening, a strong sports season and continued strength for news. Share of all radio listening below includes both over-the-air listening and AM/FM station streams.
1. News and sports anchor the spoken-word dial
- News/Talk remains the No. 1 format, with a 10.2% share of total radio listening among P18+. It is even stronger with older listeners, at 11.5% among P35+.
- All Sports captured 4.5% of total radio listening among P18+ and 4.6% among P25-54, as football season kicked off and baseball headed into its pennant races.
- All News held a 2.7% share among P18+ and 3.0% among P35+.
2. Adult Contemporary holds the top music spot
- Adult Contemporary (AC) is again the leading music format at 7.1% among P18+, matching its Q1 2026 share. It reaches its highest share with younger listeners, at 7.9% among P18-34.
3. Country, Pop and Rock connect with younger listeners
- Country held steady at a 5.8% share among P18+ and rose to 6.4% among P18-34.
- Classic Hits also posted 5.8% among P18+, and grew its P18-34 share to 5.5% (from 5.4% in Q1).
- Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) drew 4.1% among P18+ and 6.4% among P18-34.
- Hot Adult Contemporary (Hot AC) reached 5.9% among P25-54 and 5.5% among P18-34.
- Alternative grew its P18-34 share to 4.4% (from 4.2% in Q1) and reached 4.7% among P25-54.
- Classic Rock delivered a 5.2% share among P18+.
4. Black and Hispanic focused formats
- Urban Adult Contemporary | R&B posted a 5.0% share among P18+, while Urban Contemporary | Hip-Hop/R&B held steady at 2.8% among P18+ and reached 4.5% among P18-34.
- Mexican Regional stations drew a 2.6% share among P18+ and 3.6% among P25-54.
What listeners stream from AM/FM stations
When listeners tune in to the digital streams of AM/FM radio stations, spoken word takes a much larger share. News/Talk, All Sports and All News together account for about 36% of station streaming among P18+, roughly double their 17% share of all radio listening.
- News/Talk takes 22.1% of AM/FM station streaming among P18+, more than twice its share of total radio. That rises to 24.2% among P35+.
- All Sports is the No. 1 streamed format among P25-54, at 13.0%, and takes 10.3% of station streaming among P18+.
- Younger listeners stream music formats first. Among P18-34, Adult Contemporary leads station streaming at 13.1%, followed by All Sports (11.9%) and News/Talk (8.5%). Pop CHR (7.2%) and Urban Adult Contemporary | R&B (6.6%) also over-index with this group.
- Alternative (6.9%) and Hot AC (6.2%) both take a larger share of station streaming among P25-54 than they do of total radio listening in that demo.
The tables above detail how the share of radio audience varies by format, age and platform for the top 15 largest-reaching AM/FM radio formats. They separate the share of all radio listening from the share of streaming listening, meaning listening to the digital streams of AM/FM radio stations.
Get the Latest Audio Insights
The Q3 2026 data confirms what planners see quarter after quarter: radio commands the largest share of U.S. consumers’ ad-supported listening time, and together with podcasts, it accounts for 83% of the ad-supported audio day.
A medium that reaches everyone, everywhere, needs measurement that captures all of it. Nielsen measures radio, podcasts and streaming audio in one system, from the largest metros to rural counties to national networks, with samples built to represent every listener. To see what Nielsen measures and how, visit our audio measurement methodology page.
For even more audio data and insights, explore our audio measurement solutions and connect with our team of experts.
The Record provides a quarterly analysis of audio listening behaviors across the total radio universe. The data reflects average daily usage and share of listening for U.S. audiences.
