With the presidential election, 2024 was always primed to be a strong year for the news/talk radio format. But data released by Nielsen and Edison Research shows just how fruitful the year was for the format.
According to figures from the two companies released in its latest version of The Record, the total audience share — which includes both over-the-air and streaming figures — saw news/talk radio finish as the most-listened-to format during the final three months of 2024.
In the 18+ category, news/talk radio accounted for 11.3% of all listening. That topped the next closest challenger in the demographic, adult contemporary, which earned 8.1%.
The news/talk genre especially dominated the 35+ sector. 12.7% of all listening from those 35 and older was with the genre, besting the AC format which had 7.8%.
The format didn’t fare as well with younger demographics, however. 6.7% of all listening from the 25-54 demographic was with news/talk in October, November, and December. Despite the decline compared to the upper end of the demographic, it was still good enough for second place behind AC.
In the 18-34 category, news/talk saw 3.9% of all listening, placing it behind AC, country, classic hits, classic rock, pop contemporary, hot AC, and urban AC.
Streaming proved to be a strong avenue for AM/FM radio brands during the final quarter of 2024. News/Talk was first or second in every category, except for in the 18-34 demographic, where it finished behind AC and sports for third place. In the 35+ audience, more than 25% of all AM/FM radio streaming happened with news/talk. The figure dropped in the 25-54 demo, down to 15.4%, but still tops of all genres in that sector.
In the 18+ category, 23.4% of all AM/FM station streaming took place with news/talk radio, the findings from Edison Research and Nielsen show.
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