If I told you that you could be a part of a platform that reaches 93% of U.S. Adults 18+, has double the listening of the popular streaming music services and nearly 10x the listening of the hyped-up satellite radio, would you want in? You’d be crazy not to, right? However, if I told you that the answer to that “platform” was AM/FM radio, many people wouldn’t believe you. But it’s true.
According to a new report from Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC), despite facing competition from audio streaming services, radio remains a popular medium, as highlighted in a June 2022 Audio Today report by Nielsen. The report indicated that AM/FM radio reaches 93% of the US adult 18+ population (234 million listeners) monthly, surpassing streaming music services (52%) and satellite radio (13%).
As we’ve discussed in this column, the reality of media fragmentation and competition has obviously had a real impact on radio listening and ad revenue, but to look at the numbers above is a chance to be reminded about the strength that remains in the industry.
And that story needs to be told. And told, and told again. Because if we don’t tell it to anyone who will listen, no one will.
Radio is never going to get the sexy write-up in Wired or the extended coverage by CNBC, but the viability of the business at its core can still be a very successful one.
Radio, and the people in it, just need to remember that. As someone on the younger end of the business, I can wind up in a conversation with an older colleague about “the good old days” of radio, and by the time they’re done reminiscing, 20 minutes has gone by.
There is an element of that in all of us. It’s natural. However, it’s also critical to look ahead, rather than behind, and realize that while the competition is greater for ears and ad dollars, it just means we have to up our game in competing for the attention of potential listeners and advertisers.
Are you as a program director, host, or producer doing everything you can to make sure there are no wasted or “lost” segments on a show? Are you not wasting the listener’s time coming back from the break and paying off the tease that you (hopefully) promoted prior to the break? Do you lean into your live and local content that separates you from every podcast and YouTube video? Is the imaging fresh, relevant, and entertaining to keep the listener engaged in a way other platforms typically don’t?
If not, you’ll lose your audience to satellite radio, streaming music services, YouTube, Instagram, and anyone else competing in your space.
We know it’s not all roses. There’s economic uncertainty, the potential for a recession, and layoffs in some parts of media and tech.
But regardless, there needs to be a realization that while it’s a tough year for the industry thus far, it’s a great place to be. Both those things can be true at the same time.
And instead of the layoffs and/or cuts being the only stories told in other media, radio can be its own best advocate and tell the story about what remains an enormous platform with huge reach that other outlets dream of having.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
