According to a study on online radio's weekly reach in the United States from 2000 to 2025, during an average week in 2025, ** percent of the U.S. population listened to online radio, up from ** percent in 2023 and 2024.

During an average week in June 2024, radio reached **** percent of all American men aged over 55 years of age. Men of this age or older were the group most engaged with radio, although listening frequency was similar among men and women.

This table contains 208 series, with data for years 1999 - 2007 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada); Radio station format (13 items: Adult contemporary music;Album-oriented-rock music;Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC);Contemporary music; ...); Audience occupation (16 items: General labourer;Service industry worker;Farmer, farm worker;Fisheries worker; ...)

In a 2024 survey about listening to the radio in Australia, it was estimated that most radio listeners were aged between 25 and 54, with **** million aged between 25 and 39, and **** million between ** and **.

As of the first quarter of 2018, there were a total of around **** million weekly radio listeners in the U.S. between the ages of ** and **. This age bracket roughly constitutes the Millennial generation, a group which is crucial to the future success of the industry. When considering the larger 18-49 demographic, the study found a total of nearly *** million weekly radio listeners in the country.

Radio industry

Radio has been an important part of the news and entertainment industries in the U.S. since the Radio Act of 1912 was passed over a century ago. The total number of commercial radio stations grew from around *** in 1943 to nearly ************ in 1993 but experienced much slower development throughout much of the 90s and 2000s. The average American adult spends over *** minutes listening to the radio per week, which amounts to nearly *** hours per day.

Online radio

The internet has brought increased technology to the radio industry whilst retaining the standard format that people know and enjoy. By streaming radio over the internet, stations can reach listeners far beyond their local area. As of 2019, online radio reached over ** percent of young people in the United States each month.

This table contains 143 series, with data for years 1999 - 2007 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (11 items: Canada;Newfoundland and Labrador;Prince Edward Island;Nova Scotia; ...), Radio station format (13 items: Adult contemporary music;Album-oriented-rock music;Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC);Contemporary music; ...).

During an average week in between fall 2022 and fall 2024, **** percent of 'Classical' radio listeners in the United States were over 65 years of age. Considering the distribution of various radio formats' audience by age, it is clear to see that this genre is less appealing to the young, with only *** percent of adults aged under 25 tuning in to "Classical" radio.

The reach of online radio in the United States has increased sharply in the last decade, with ** percent of the U.S. population having listened to the online radio in the past month in 2023, compared to ** percent ten years previously. Weekly online radio consumption among U.S. listeners has also increased, growing from ** percent in 2007 to ** percent in 2023.

This table contains 104 series, with data for years 1999 - 2007 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 item: Canada), Radio station format (13 items: Adult contemporary music;Album-oriented-rock music;Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC);Contemporary music; ...), Audience education level (8 items: Grade school education or less;Partial high school education;High school graduate;Partial community or technical college; ...)

This table contains 234 series, with data for years 1999 - 2007 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years), and is no longer being released. This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (13 items: Canada;Newfoundland and Labrador;Prince Edward Island;Nova Scotia; ...), Audience characteristics (18 items: Total audience population 12 years and over;Teens 12 to 17 years;Males 18 years and over;Males 18 to 24 years; ...).

In a 2024 survey about listening to the radio in Australia, it was estimated that there were around **** million commercial radio listeners nationwide. By comparison, it was estimated that there were just over **** million listeners to community radio.

This graph shows the distribution of radio listeners in the United States in December 2015, broken by demographic group and gender. Of the radio listeners in Generation X (ages 35 to 49), ** percent of the listeners were male and ** percent were female.

In 2025, the widest listener group, around ** percent listening to the radio, was people aged 50 and over. Around ** percent of listeners reached were retired.

Radio broadcasting has undergone a steady decline over the past few decades as a result of shrinking listenership and falling advertising interest. In the past, radio stations enjoyed almost exclusive access to the audience's ears, offering them a variety of music and audio entertainment. However, with competition from podcasts and music streaming platforms soaring, many people are opting for these alternative media. Over the five years through 2025, radio broadcasting revenue is projected to fall at a compound annual rate of 5.6%, including an estimated 3.9% dip in 2025 alone, to sit at a projected €8.1 billion. Europe's radio market is largely dominated by state-supported public service broadcasters (PSBs), which hold the most popular station in 56% of markets, according to estimates by the European Broadcasting Union. These include the likes of the BBC in the UK, Germany's Deutschlandradio and Italy’s RAI. These public broadcasters boast an array of stations catering to different audience preferences. Instead of leaning on ads for revenue, they largely derive their funding from license fees or direct taxes, protecting their revenue from advertisers’ willingness to invest in radio. Commercial broadcasters have had a more difficult period. Their reliance on advertiser income means that they have been especially impacted by lower listenership and advertiser flight to digital marketing and profitability has been hindered. Digitisation poses both an opportunity and a challenge for radio. On the one hand, digital radio platforms like BBC Sounds have made it considerably easier to broadcast beyond borders, reaching out to global audiences. Broadcasts can also use digital platforms to integrate radio and podcasts, allowing them to tap into the growing podcast market. However, music streaming is posing an ever-greater threat to radio listenership. This intensifying competition could lead to market consolidation as smaller radio stations struggle to compete both nationally and internationally. Radio broadcasting revenue is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 0.1% over the five years through 2030, reaching €8.1 billion.

According to a study on the radio consumption in the United Kingdom in 2021, live radio was very popular among the age group of 55 years and older, as ** percent of respondents tuned in. While live radio was not as popular among the generation of 15 to 24 year-olds, ** percent of 35 to 54 year-olds also consumed live radio.

As of October 2024, according to a survey conducted on consumer behavior and media consumption in Thailand, **** percent of the respondents stated that they listened to radio programs and music. The majority of the respondents used music streaming services in that year.

Preferred radio stations of the GDR population. Listener level of western and eastern radio stations. Topics: Preferred radio stations and programs; reception quality on the individual wave lengths; television habits; wishes of the broadcast offerings of the RIAS Berlin. Demography: age (classified); sex; school education; occupation; state. Bevorzugte Rundfunkstationen der DDR-Bevölkerung. Hörerniveau westlicher und östlicher Rundfunksender. Themen: Bevorzugte Rundfunkstationen und Beiträge; Empfangsqualität auf den einzelnen Wellenbereichen; Fernsehgewohnheiten; Wünsche an das Sendeangebot des RIAS Berlin. Demographie: Alter (klassiert); Geschlecht; Schulbildung; Beruf; Bundesland. Quota sample of visitors to the Green Week in West Berlin, who live in the GDR. Quotenauswahl Oral survey with standardized questionnaire Mündliche Befragung mit standardisiertem Fragebogen

The statistic shows the share of radio listeners worldwide in 2017, by age. According to the source, ** percent of radio listeners worldwide in 2017 were aged 55 and older.

In a survey conducted in January 2022, about ** percent of the respondents stated that they never listened to the radio in India. Furthermore, only about **** percent of the respondents listened to the radio daily in the country during that time period.

Data gathered between the 2nd quarter 2023 and the 1st quarter 2024 revealed that ** percent of young listeners in the United States listened to the radio daily. The source also stated that, among these daily radio listeners aged between 13 and 34 years, the majority listened to the radio only in the car.