Radio’s ability to hold its audience while engagement weakens across several digital platforms has emerged as a strategic advantage for U.S. broadcasters. Crowd React Media’s “State of Media 2026” report found that 76% of American adults use radio in a typical week, up slightly from 75% in 2025. Frequent use also held at 30% for a second consecutive year.
The findings come as frequent engagement falls across social media, streaming television, music streaming and podcasts. Radio listening sessions have also remained steady for three years, with 30 minutes to one hour the dominant session length for roughly 40% of listeners. For stations and advertisers, that combination points to a consistent audience that gives programming and commercial messages time to register.
However, the report identifies a significant shift in when audiences listen. Morning remained the leading daypart, but its share as listeners’ primary listening time fell from 52% in 2024 to 40% in 2026. Afternoon listening rose from 28% to 34% over the same period, suggesting stations may need to reconsider how they value and program the later daypart.
The research also challenges assumptions about younger audiences. Among listeners ages 18–34, 40% cite local content and events as a reason for listening, compared with 30% overall and 20% among those 55 and older. The same younger group moves freely across platforms, with 70% accessing radio through AM/FM, 45% through mobile devices, 36% through desktop streaming and 22% through smart speakers.
For news/talk stations, immediacy remains a point of differentiation. Forty-two percent strongly agree that breaking news motivates them to listen, while younger news/talk audiences appear to use YouTube for long-form debate and radio when events unfold. That behavior positions radio and digital video as complementary services rather than mutually exclusive competitors.
Crowd React Media surveyed 1,094 U.S. adults in March and April 2026 for the third annual study. The full report examines nine media categories, audience conversion, changing dayparts, platform use, podcast advertising, artificial intelligence and signs of growing fatigue with algorithm-driven media. Its central challenge for broadcasters is clear: protect radio’s consistency, but deliver its local and live strengths wherever audiences choose to listen.
You can view or download the “State of Media 2026” report below.
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