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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsYes. People still listen to AM/FM radio in large numbers, particularly in cars—but radio is no longer the default audio choice in every setting. The dial now sits alongside podcasts, music services and station streams, and “radio listening” can mean either receiving a broadcast over the air or hearing a station through the internet.
What the latest numbers say
No single statistic answers how many people listen to radio: weekly reach, time spent, vehicle use and broadcast reception measure different things. These recent U.S. figures offer a more useful picture.
| Measure | Finding | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Use in the primary vehicle | 73% of people said they currently used AM/FM radio in their primary vehicle, according to the 2026 Infinite Dial summary. | “Used” does not mean daily listening, but radio remains the leading in-car source reported in that summary. |
| How weekly radio listeners tune in | In Edison’s 2026 survey, 70% listened exclusively through traditional AM/FM reception; 30% used a stream for at least some radio listening. | These are shares of weekly radio listeners, not of all Americans. |
| Share of AM/FM listening time | In Q1 2026, streamed AM/FM made up 14% of daily time spent with AM/FM; over-the-air listening made up the remaining 86%. | This is a time share, not the proportion of listeners who stream. |
| Ad-supported audio time | In Nielsen’s Q1 2026 measurement, radio and podcasts together represented 82% of daily ad-supported audio time; streaming music services represented 16%. | Nielsen’s radio category includes both over-the-air AM/FM and digital station streams. This is not a measure of all audio listening. |
| Radio use in cars, year over year | The 2026 Infinite Dial summary reported online audio use in cars at 48%, down from 55% in 2025. | This is a reported survey measure; the summary does not provide enough detail to reconstruct its exact wording. |
The Infinite Dial is a nationally representative U.S. survey of people age 12 and older, conducted using mobile and landline telephone sampling. Its findings describe reported behavior, not continuous monitoring of every listener. Edison’s Infinite Dial methodology and report information.
Why radio remains strong in cars
Cars still give broadcast radio a practical advantage: a tuner is built into many vehicles, reception does not require a subscription or mobile-data plan, and listening can begin with a button press rather than a search for a song or episode. In-car use matters because driving creates long stretches of listening time, often with limited attention available for managing a playlist.
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Local stations can add traffic, weather, news, sports and live programming to that convenient, continuous experience. Their value depends on the station and market, but these are services a national music catalog does not automatically provide. Radio also works without a cellular connection where a usable broadcast signal reaches the vehicle; it is not guaranteed to work through every outage or in every location.
Cars are also more connected than they used to be. Podcasts, satellite radio, phone apps, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make alternatives easier to access. Radio retains the largest reported in-car position, but drivers have more ways to divide their listening time. The 2026 figures are summarized by National Public Media’s account of the Infinite Dial.
Are younger people abandoning radio?
No simple generational verdict fits the evidence. The 2026 Infinite Dial summary says radio remains especially strong among people 55 and older, while also describing growth among adults 18–34. That summary does not establish that younger adults prefer radio in every setting, or that their listening has returned to an earlier level.
A separate Nielsen comparison shows how the mix differs by age within ad-supported audio. In Q2 2025, radio accounted for 45% of daily ad-supported audio time among people ages 18–34, versus 71% among those 35 and older. Podcasts took 32% among 18–34-year-olds and 15% among those 35 and older. Nielsen’s radio measure includes station streams, so those figures are not a comparison of over-the-air listening alone. Nielsen’s Q2 2025 age-group breakdown.
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Age is only one factor. A person’s choices may also depend on whether they are driving or at home, whether they want music or spoken-word programming, which stations are available locally, and whether they seek a particular language or cultural perspective. National averages cannot describe every community or station.
What “listening to radio” means now
Radio audience figures can include more than a receiver picking up a tower’s signal. It helps to separate four terms:
- Broadcast radio: An AM or FM signal received over the air by a radio tuner.
- Station streaming: A station’s live audio delivered over the internet through its website, app, a smart speaker or a connected-car system.
- Radio category: A measurement category that may combine broadcast listening and station streams. Nielsen’s recent audio reporting does this.
- Other digital audio: Podcasts, music services, video platforms and other listening that is not necessarily a live AM/FM station.
A station’s podcast archive or a music service’s algorithmic “radio” playlist may carry radio-like programming, but neither is automatically an AM/FM broadcast or a live station stream. For listeners, this distinction affects how they access content: over-the-air reception does not use mobile data, while station streaming does and may be affected by data limits, connection quality or service availability.
Edison’s Q1 2026 findings make the distinction concrete: streams accounted for 14% of daily AM/FM listening time, while 30% of weekly radio listeners used a stream at least some of the time. The first number describes time; the second describes people. They are compatible because many listeners can use both a receiver and a stream across a week. Edison’s breakdown of streamed and over-the-air AM/FM.
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AM and FM are not the same story
Most of the recent national figures above report AM and FM together. They show that the combined radio category remains widely used, but they do not demonstrate that AM and FM have identical audience trends.
FM’s stereo sound and higher fidelity have historically made it a natural home for music formats. AM has long carried news, talk and sports, and can serve multilingual or specialized programming as well as areas where other options are limited. Its signals can cover long distances under some conditions. Those general differences do not substitute for current, AM-only audience data: the figures cited here do not establish whether AM’s audience is growing or shrinking on its own.
Which formats keep listeners tuned in?
“Radio” is a delivery platform, not a single kind of programming. Nielsen’s Q1 2026 format shares show a varied landscape among U.S. adults 18 and older. These figures are each format’s share of total radio listening, not the percentage of adults who listen to that format.
| Format | Q1 2026 share of total radio listening | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| News/Talk | 10.9% | The largest listed share here; it is a share of listening, not audience reach. |
| Adult Contemporary | 7.1% | Nielsen noted a seasonal holiday-driven increase in the previous quarter. |
| Country | 5.8% | A national format share that can conceal local variation. |
| Urban Adult Contemporary/R&B | 5.1% | A combined format category in Nielsen’s reporting. |
| Pop Contemporary Hit Radio | 4.3% | A format share, not the proportion of listeners who choose it. |
| Mexican Regional | 3.1% | Share among adults 18 and older. |
Nielsen also reported particular strength for Classic Hits among 18–34-year-olds and growth in Hot AC and Alternative for that age group. Formats create different kinds of value: live sports connects listeners to local teams; news and talk offer timely coverage and familiar hosts; regional, Spanish-language, religious and community programming can serve audiences that broad national services may not address in the same way. Nielsen’s Q1 2026 audio and radio trends.
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What radio offers—and what on-demand audio does better
Radio’s strengths are most apparent when listeners want something immediate, local or effortless. A station can provide live coverage, a familiar voice, local information and a continuous sequence of programming without requiring the listener to assemble a queue. Broadcast reception is free at the point of use and can be useful when internet access is unavailable, subject to signal, station power and receiver availability.
On-demand services solve different problems. Music streaming offers large catalogs, personalization and track choice; paid plans may offer offline listening. Podcasts make it easier to select a subject and listen on one’s own schedule. YouTube adds video discovery, while satellite radio offers a broad channel lineup. These options reduce radio’s old advantage of being the obvious source of nearly all audio, even when they do not replace local live programming.
The FCC’s 2024 Communications Marketplace Report cited 2023 Share of Ear data for Americans age 13 and older: AM/FM represented 36% of total audio time, streaming music 20%, YouTube 14%, podcasts 11% and SiriusXM 8%. Those are historical figures, not a 2026 market snapshot, and the report’s categories and population should not be conflated with Nielsen’s ad-supported-audio measure. They are useful as context for a market where radio remained substantial while competing formats already claimed meaningful listening time. FCC 2024 Communications Marketplace Report.
How to decide whether radio still fits your listening
A conventional receiver remains useful if you want free local broadcasts, simple controls, or listening that does not depend on a phone’s data connection. It can be especially practical in a car, workshop or kitchen, and a battery-powered receiver can provide an alternative during some internet outages. A receiver is not a guarantee of emergency service: stations and transmitters can lose power, signals vary, and the device itself needs power.
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A station app or stream is a better fit if you want a particular station while outside its broadcast range, or if your car and speakers make internet audio convenient. It requires a suitable connection and may consume mobile data. Aggregator services can help find stations, but their selections and availability vary by market and rights. Official listening options include iHeart, Audacy, TuneIn and NPR’s apps and listening options; none should be assumed to carry every local station.
If your priority is selecting every song, building playlists or following specialized podcast series, a music service or podcast app will likely suit that need better than live radio. Many listeners need not choose one format: a receiver, station stream and on-demand app serve different circumstances.
Bottom line: the dial changed, not disappeared
People still listen to AM/FM radio in 2026, with especially strong reported use in cars and a large majority of AM/FM listening time still coming over the air. But radio’s reach is no longer the same as exclusive control of the listening day: station streams have become part of the category, and podcasts and music services compete for attention. The most accurate description is a durable broadcast medium adapting to a wider, more connected audio world.
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