Edison Research has expanded the data set from its recent Share of Ear Study results that show that AM/FM radio listenership is dwindling among younger listeners.
After previously sharing that podcast listening had surpassed AM/FM radio in the ad-supported audio realm, the company has shared more details about how that breaks down by demographic.
Edison Research data shows that of those aged 13-34, 53% of time spent listening is with podcasts. That figured dwarfs the 23% that AM/FM radio receives from that demographic.
“Radio does rebound among 35–54-year-olds but still falls short with 47% of their spoken-word listening time going to podcasts and 35% going to AM/FM radio,” the company said. “Our story completely changes among Americans ages 55+, who spend the majority of their spoken-word listening time with AM/FM radio, at 55%, and less than one-quarter of their time with podcasts at 22%.
“The dominance of podcast listening among younger age cohorts can certainly be attributed to their preference for on-demand content that also includes visual elements, qualities specific to podcasts and not radio. AM/FM radio carries a wide variety of spoken-word offerings, ranging from sports play-by-play and sports talk, NPR programming, news and entertainment talk shows, to political talk.”
In the fourth quarter of 2025, time spent listening to podcasts rose to 40% of all spoken-word listening time. AM/FM Radio spoken word audio time finished the quarter at 39% of listening, according to the Share of Ear study from Edison Research.
Spoken word audio listening accounts for 25% of all daily time spent with audio, the Edison Research study shows.
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