Gitnux/Report 2026

Radio Industry Statistics

Radio is quietly outpacing TV on the strength of results, with US studies pointing to a 5:1 radio ad ROI versus TV’s 2:1 and $3.8 billion in US spot spend in 2023, while 93% of adults are reached each year. From 60% HD Radio in new cars by 2025 to 70% Europe DAB+ coverage in 2023 and 150 million cumulative radio app downloads, this page connects audience reach, shifting platforms, and station economics for the clearest read on where money and listening are moving next.
228Statistics
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12Sections
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November 10, 2026Updated
Radio Industry Statistics
Aisha OkonkwoWritten by Aisha Okonkwo·Edited by Lars Eriksen·Fact-checked by Yumi Nakamura
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The radio industry at a glance

Radio remains a large global advertising channel, with terrestrial radio forecast to generate $19.3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026 despite continued audience and revenue migration toward streaming audio and podcasts.

$19.3B[52]
Terrestrial radio ad revenue, 2026
$2.3B[15]
U.S. digital radio revenue, 2025
$1.5B[53]
Canadian radio operating revenue, 2025
36%[44]
U.S. AM/FM audio share, 2023
Market size
Global terrestrial radio advertising revenue is forecast at $19.3 billion in 2026, down from $19.9 billion in 2025. In Canada, the broader radio broadcasting stations industry reported $1.5 billion in operating revenue in 2025.[52][53]
Forecast & CAGR
U.S. total radio revenue, including spot, digital, off-air and network revenue, is projected to decline from $14.42 billion in 2024 to $13.40 billion in 2029, equivalent to a negative five-year CAGR of 1.45%. U.S. digital radio revenue is forecast to reach $2.5 billion in 2026, up 9.5% from 2025.[54][15]
Market share & regions
WPP forecasts terrestrial radio to account for 2.3% of global advertising revenue in 2026, while streaming audio is forecast at $8.3 billion. In Canada, English-language stations generated $829.3 million of commercial traditional-radio revenue in 2025, compared with $193.4 million for French-language stations and $43.8 million for third-language stations.[52][18]
Segmentation
Canada's 2025 commercial traditional-radio revenue totaled $1.0665 billion, including $712.4 million from local time sales and $302.6 million from national time sales. By language, English-language stations represented the largest segment at $829.3 million.[18]
Key players & concentration
The U.S. market includes large national groups alongside independent and nonprofit stations. As a recent indicator of group scale, Urban One's 2026 acquisition of two Dallas stations for $22 million was identified as the year's largest radio transaction at the time of BIA's May report; BIA later reported 49 commercial stations sold for a combined $53.2 million in July and August 2026.[55]
Pricing
Available industry data are predominantly revenue and advertising-rate measures rather than standardized consumer subscription prices. In Canada, local advertising represented 66.8% of commercial traditional-radio revenue in 2025, while national time sales totaled $302.6 million.[18]
Trends, drivers & challenges
The principal structural trend is the shift from terrestrial broadcasting toward streaming audio, podcasts and digital advertising: global streaming-audio advertising is forecast to grow 7.9% to $8.3 billion in 2026, while terrestrial radio declines 2.7% to $19.3 billion. Canadian radio revenue fell 2.6% in 2025, reflecting pressure on local advertising, although the industry remained profitable overall.[52][18][53]
Consumer behavior & competition
In the FCC's cited Edison Research 2023 Share of Ear data, AM/FM radio accounted for 36% of time spent listening among U.S. consumers aged 13 and older, compared with 20% for streaming music, 14% for YouTube and 11% for podcasts. Nielsen reported in Q3 2026 that radio remained the largest component of U.S. ad-supported listening time, with radio and podcasts together accounting for 83% of the ad-supported audio day.[44][40]
M&A
Radio M&A remained active in 2026: Urban One agreed to acquire KKDA and KRNB in Dallas-Fort Worth for $22 million, while Hoffmann Media Group agreed to acquire six St. Louis stations from Audacy for $20 million. BIA recorded 49 commercial stations sold for $53.2 million across July and August 2026.[55][19]
Regulation
U.S. broadcast-radio operators remain subject to FCC licensing and ownership rules, including restrictions on foreign ownership under Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act. In 2026, the FCC issued a public notice concerning its review of foreign-ownership policies for broadcast, common-carrier and aeronautical radio licensees.[44]
Latest news
The latest industry indicators point to continued digital transition rather than an abrupt collapse of radio: Nielsen's Q3 2026 data showed radio retaining the largest share of U.S. ad-supported listening, while BIA reported substantial station-trading activity during July and August 2026. Canada, meanwhile, recorded a 2025 radio-industry profit of $28.8 million after losses in four of the previous five years.[40][55][53]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Radio Industry

The leading companies in the radio industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 7, 2026 · Next review December 7, 2026

Verdict

iHeartMedia leads Gitnux's 2026 radio ranking with an Overall score of 9.6, with Nielsen-identified largest U.S. broadcast-radio audience among audio companies. RTL Group is the highest-ranked radio broadcaster at 9.4, thanks to operation of radio alongside television, streaming, digital and publishing businesses.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in digital radio and audio distribution

    iHeartMedia

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.6 · Digital radio and audio distribution

    Why we picked it: It runs broadcast radio plus digital audio at scale in the US, supported by Nielsen audience data.

    See in ranking ↓Visit iheartmedia.com ↗

  2. Leader in commercial radio broadcasting

    RTL Group

    LU

    Ranked #2 · 9.4 · Commercial radio broadcasting

    Why we picked it: It combines radio with broader audio and publishing holdings in Europe across multiple platforms.

    See in ranking ↓Visit rtl.com ↗

  3. Leader in satellite subscription audio

    Sirius XM Holdings

    US

    Ranked #4 · 9.2 · Satellite subscription audio

    Why we picked it: It sells subscription audio at North American scale through satellite radio, measured by subscriber count.

    See in ranking ↓Visit siriusxm.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the radio industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

iHeartMedia

Digital radio and audio distribution · US

9.6
2

RTL Group

Commercial radio broadcasting · LU

9.4
3

Bauer Media Group

Commercial radio broadcasting · DE

9.2
4

Sirius XM Holdings

Satellite subscription audio · US

9.2
5

Audacy

Commercial radio broadcasting · US

8.8
6

Cumulus Media

Broadcast radio and syndicated networks, US · US

8.7
7

Urban One

Urban and African-American radio, US · US

8.3
8

Townsquare Media

Local radio and digital media, US · US

8.3
9

NRJ Group

Commercial radio networks and broadcasting, Europe · FR

8.2
10

Beasley Broadcast Group

Local commercial radio, US · US

7.7

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 7, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the radio industry. In Radio Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/radio-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest radio companies

Sirius XM Holdings leads with $8.6B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

Sirius XM Holdings$8.6B
RTL Group$6.5B
iHeartMedia$3.9B
Cumulus Media$742M
Townsquare Media$427M
NRJ Group$347M
source-verifiedinvestor.siriusxm.com · company.rtl.com · sec.gov · nrjgroup.fr2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Innovation signals focus on AI and cloud operational needs; 62% say companies aren’t investing enough in future business models in 2026, alongside integration and multicloud complexity measures.

Digital Transformation in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 62% of media respondents said companies are not investing enough in future business models in 2026, indicating a significant transformation funding gap globally.[1]
  • 44% of surveyed news publishers said their newsroom AI initiatives were showing promising results in 2026, while 42% described results as limited globally.[1]
  • 76% of publisher respondents planned to encourage staff to behave more like creators in 2026, reflecting a shift toward creator-oriented digital publishing globally.[1]
  • 94% of media companies reported gains from digital-transformation efforts in 2025, the highest result among industries surveyed globally.[2]

Technology Adoption in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 69% of digital-publishing stakeholders expected journalists to have a voice on social media in 2026, according to a survey of 163 publishing-sector participants.[3]
  • 22% of publishers reported not using AI for content creation and distribution in 2025, based on a survey of U.S. and UK publishers.[4]
  • 30% of publishers reported using AI for content optimization and personalization in 2025, based on a survey of 50 U.S. and UK publishers.[4]
  • 76% of publishers were piloting or experimenting with AI on business-side functions in 2025, while 18% were actively deploying AI across multiple functions.[5]

Cloud Computing in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 55% of media respondents identified complexity as their biggest multicloud challenge, including integration, scaling and maintenance issues, in 2023.[6]
  • 98% of media respondents expected a majority of their workloads to be cloud-native within 12 months, according to a global media and entertainment survey conducted in 2023.[6]
  • 39% of media respondents identified cloud-sprawl costs, data-egress charges and unpredictable pricing as a major multicloud pain point in 2023.[6]
  • 35.4% of media and entertainment respondents identified migration to a multicloud environment as a technology trend driving observability requirements in 2025.[7]
  • 43% of media respondents cited insufficient internal skills for edge computing or specific cloud environments as a major multicloud challenge in 2023.[6]

Big Data in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 39% of publishing-sector stakeholders identified data and analytics capabilities as an investment priority for the year ahead in 2025.[8]
  • 56% of surveyed publishers said unifying data across platforms was a growing challenge in 2025, based on responses from 50 U.S. and UK publishers.[4]
  • 35.4% of media and entertainment respondents identified AI adoption as a technology trend driving observability requirements in 2025, reflecting growing use of data-intensive systems.[7]
  • 27.8% of media and entertainment respondents identified integrating business applications into workflows as a technology trend driving observability requirements in 2025.[7]

IoT in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 32.9% of media and entertainment respondents identified IoT adoption as a technology trend driving observability requirements in 2025.[7]
  • 39% of media-industry respondents had already implemented IoT and 5G initiatives in 2025, while 34% were in the process of adopting them across EMEA.[9]
  • 33% of media and entertainment organizations identified IoT adoption as a strategy or trend driving their need for observability in 2024, versus 27% overall.[7]
  • 43% of global media and entertainment enterprises rated IoT extremely important to digital-transformation success in 2024, according to a GSMA Intelligence survey.[10]
  • 16% of global media and entertainment enterprises ranked IoT among their top five technology-spending areas for 2024–2026, according to GSMA Intelligence.[10]
  • 90% of global media and entertainment enterprises were already using IoT technology in 2024, according to a GSMA Intelligence survey across 21 countries.[10]

Innovation in the radio industry

  • 55% was the growth in UK podcast advertising revenue over the two years to 2024, representing 51% of total UK digital-audio spending.[11]
  • 1 in 5 minutes of AM/FM radio consumption was driven by online radio streaming in 2024, according to the IAB.[12]
  • 34% of Spanish radio listeners used digital channels at least occasionally in 2024, equivalent to 10.8 million monthly users.[13]
  • $1.62 billion was the projected U.S. radio-station digital revenue in 2024, up 6.4% year over year.[14]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data availability and integration limit AI use; 75% of publishers report incomplete, inconsistent or outdated data affecting AI tool quality, and 64% cite difficulty integrating data sources into AI tools.

Business intelligence in the radio industry

  • 9% of surveyed U.S. radio stations had not addressed generative AI by 2024, down from 21% in 2023.[15]
  • 39% of surveyed U.S. radio stations had established a best-practice policy for generative AI use in 2024.[15]
  • 91% of surveyed U.S. radio stations had discussed generative AI by 2024, up from 79% in 2023.[15]
  • 19% of surveyed U.S. radio stations were in the planning stages for generative-AI use in 2024.[15]

Data analytics in the radio industry

  • 68% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold social-media-management services in 2024.[15]
  • 51% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold website-hosting services in 2024.[15]
  • 84% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold OTT-placement services in 2024.[15]
  • 87% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold search-engine-optimization services in 2024, the most common digital service reported.[15]

Data Quality in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 64% of publishers surveyed globally in March 2026 identified difficulty integrating data sources into AI tools as their greatest data challenge.[5]
  • 75% of publishers surveyed globally in March 2026 said incomplete, inconsistent or outdated data affected the quality or usefulness of their AI tools.[5]
  • 63% of publishers surveyed in 2023 reported low data quality as a challenge when collecting customer data.[5]
  • 52% of publishers surveyed in 2023 reported low data quality as a challenge when segmenting customer data.[5]

Data Governance in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 92% of European media stakeholders surveyed in 2025 required robust data and privacy protection before joining a shared media data space.[16]
  • 37% of European media organisations surveyed in 2025 reported having no data strategy.[16]
  • 28% of European media organisations surveyed in 2025 reported having a fully implemented data strategy.[16]
  • 28% of European media organisations surveyed in 2025 reported having a partially implemented data strategy.[16]
  • 72% of European media organisations surveyed in 2025 considered data very important to their daily operations.[16]
  • 46% of European media organisations surveyed in 2025 had a dedicated data team, while 34% had no dedicated data team.[16]

KPIs in the radio industry

  • 43.1% of U.K. radio listening hours belonged to the BBC in Q1 2025, compared with 24.7% for Global and 19.2% for Bauer.[17]
  • Traditional broadcasting represented 40% of Canadian audio-consumption habits in the 2024 broadcast year.[18]
  • 86.9% of U.K. adults aged 15 and over reached radio in Q1 2025, according to the industry’s quarterly audience-measurement system.[17]
  • 20.5 hours was the average weekly radio-listening time per U.K. listener in Q1 2025.[17]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Channel and service mix continues to expand alongside station ownership changes; U.S. digital marketing services growth reached 30% in Cumulus Media’s Q1 2025 plan after emphasizing digital expansion.

Growth in the radio industry

  • 30% was Cumulus Media’s expected first-quarter 2025 growth rate for its digital marketing services business after emphasizing digital expansion.[19]
  • 8.9% was iHeartMedia’s 2024 revenue growth in its Digital Audio Group, reaching $1.165 billion.[19]
  • 27.4% was iHeartMedia’s 2024 revenue growth in Audio and Media Services, reaching $327.1 million.[19]
  • 10.0% was iHeartMedia’s 2024 podcast revenue growth, reaching $448.8 million.[19]

Differentiation in the radio industry

  • Five times as many digital listening hours as the next-largest commercial broadcast-radio company were claimed by iHeartRadio in 2024.[19]
  • 400 Cumulus-owned radio stations were differentiated through local programming across 84 U.S. markets in 2024.[19]
  • 19 Podtrac content categories included iHeartMedia podcasts in 2024, according to the company’s annual report.[19]
  • More than 220 local radio brands formed Audacy’s U.S. portfolio in 2024.[19]

Mergers and acquisitions in the radio industry

  • $198 million was the total U.S. radio-industry transaction volume in 2024, down from $220 million in 2023.[20]
  • $1.1 billion was the U.S. radio-industry transaction volume in 2019, compared with $198 million in 2024.[20]
  • $155.5 million was the value of U.S. radio-station sales in 2024, excluding station swaps and donations.[14]
  • $175 million was the maximum consideration in Stingray’s 2025 acquisition of TuneIn.[21]

Strategic partnerships in the radio industry

  • More than 9,500 affiliated stations carried Cumulus Media’s Westwood One syndicated programming in 2024.[19]
  • Audacy had partnerships with HBO, Netflix, Amazon, the WNBA, Roc Nation and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2024.[19]
  • More than 100,000 radio stations and audio channels were accessible through TuneIn’s content-provider relationships before its 2025 acquisition.[21]
  • 500-plus platforms and thousands of devices distributed iHeartRadio content through the company’s platform partnerships in 2024.[19]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce churn and staffing strain show up in radio management and roles; U.S. radio-news managers reported 41.4% noticing more staff burnout in 2024.

Hiring in the radio industry

  • 41.4% of U.S. radio-news managers reported noticing more staff burnout in 2024.[22]
  • 0.5 replacement positions and 0.2 new positions were hired per U.S. radio station on average in 2024.[22]
  • 52,680 people were employed by U.S. radio broadcasting stations in May 2024.[23]
  • 13,710 broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys worked in U.S. radio broadcasting stations in May 2024.[23]

Employee retention in the radio industry

  • 24.1% of employees who left U.S. radio-news organizations in 2024 retired.[22]
  • 45.6% of employees who left U.S. radio-news organizations in 2024 cited a career change as the reason.[22]
  • 10% was Michigan Radio’s average annual employee-turnover rate from fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2020.[24]
  • 56% of radio-industry leavers in the UK were women in 2022/23.[17]

Remote Work in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across independent UK publishers, 42% of staff worked fully from home in 2025.[25]
  • Across independent UK publishers, 84% of staff worked partly or fully from home in 2025.[25]
  • In the U.S. entertainment and media sector, 37.4% of new job postings were remote in 2024.[26]
  • Across entertainment and media job postings, 369,000 new remote-job listings were recorded globally in 2024.[26]

Hybrid Work in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 42% of staff at UK independent publishers had hybrid working arrangements in 2025, while 42% worked fully from home and 16% worked fully in an office.[25]
  • Across independent UK publishers, 42% of staff had hybrid working arrangements in 2025.[25]
  • 42% of journalists surveyed globally worked in hybrid arrangements in 2024, compared with 24% working in-office and 34% fully remote.[27]
  • Across independent UK publishers, 58% of organizations required full-time staff to work a minimum number of days in the office in 2025.[25]
  • Across media and entertainment employers, 87% said their organizations were still struggling to balance hybrid working in 2025.[28]

Employee Engagement in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • Creative and media employees rated autonomy 8.62 out of 10 in CultureMonkey’s Q3 2026 benchmark.[29]
  • Creative and media employees rated meaningful work 8.76 out of 10 in CultureMonkey’s Q3 2026 benchmark.[29]
  • Across communications and public-relations professionals, 89% reported being engaged at work in a 2024 survey.[30]
  • Creative and media employees recorded an average eNPS of +22 in CultureMonkey’s Q3 2026 benchmark.[29]
  • Creative and media employees rated work-life balance 7.29 out of 10 in CultureMonkey’s Q3 2026 benchmark.[29]

DEI in the radio industry

  • 50% of the UK radio workforce was women in 2022/23.[17]
  • 56% of UK radio-industry leavers were women in 2022/23.[17]

Change Management in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 25% of surveyed news workers at one US newsroom thought management had communicated its goals effectively during organizational change.[31]
  • 25% of media and publishing leaders rated the organizational change underway at their companies as substantial or massive, scoring it 8, 9 or 10 on a ten-point scale in 2022.[32]
  • 92% of media and publishing leaders agreed or strongly agreed that their companies had a clear vision of the kind of company they needed to become in 2022.[32]
  • 67% of academic publishers identified modernizing systems and workflows as their top strategic priority in 2025, while 21% actively embraced AI as a transformative opportunity.[33]
  • 74% of media and publishing leaders agreed or strongly agreed that their company culture encouraged change and innovation in 2022.[32]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Ad-supported listening still drives listening behavior; 68% of U.S. ad-supported audio listening time was allocated to broadcast radio in 2024, including 84 minutes per day.

Customer experience in the radio industry

  • 68% of U.S. ad-supported audio listening time was allocated to broadcast radio in 2024.[15]
  • 84 minutes per day was the average time U.S. listeners spent with broadcast radio in 2024.[15]
  • 88% of U.S. Gen X listeners used broadcast radio for in-car ad-supported audio listening in 2024.[15]
  • 1 in 2 U.S. radio listeners had a favorite radio personality in 2025, and those listeners had followed that personality for an average of 8 years.[15]

Customer retention in the radio industry

  • 14 weekly tune-in occasions were recorded for core givers to a U.S. public-radio station.[34]
  • 29% was the loyalty rate among non-givers to a U.S. public-radio station in Audience 98 data.[34]
  • 6 weekly tune-in occasions were recorded for non-givers to a U.S. public-radio station.[34]
  • 77% was the loyalty rate among core givers to a U.S. public-radio station in Audience 98 data.[34]

Customer acquisition in the radio industry

  • 45% of U.S. listeners were driven to try an insurance brand by radio advertising in 2023.[15]
  • 48% of U.S. consumers were driven to purchase by radio advertising in 2023, according to an Audacy-Nielsen study.[15]
  • 45% of U.S. listeners were driven to try an auto brand by radio advertising in 2023.[15]
  • 53% of U.S. listeners were driven to try a telecom brand by radio advertising in 2023.[15]

Customer loyalty in the radio industry

  • 41% of non-givers to a U.S. public-radio station listened on both weekdays and weekends.[34]
  • 12 years was the average listening history for core givers to a U.S. public-radio station in Audience 98 data.[34]
  • 80% of core givers to a U.S. public-radio station listened on both weekdays and weekends.[34]
  • 7 years was the average listening history for non-givers to a U.S. public-radio station in Audience 98 data.[34]

Lead generation in the radio industry

  • 72% of U.S. consumers were more likely to notice a social-media ad after hearing about the product on radio in March 2025.[15]
  • 51% of brand conversations among heavy U.S. radio listeners resulted in purchase intent in 2023.[15]
  • 4.7 billion weekly brand conversations were generated by heavy U.S. radio listeners in 2023.[15]
  • 55% of U.S. radio listeners were more likely to click a social-media link after hearing the product advertised on radio in March 2025.[15]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Local advertiser buying persists with digital additions; 34% of U.S. local advertisers bought AM/FM radio advertising in 2024, alongside 71% buying social media advertising.

Marketing in the radio industry

  • 34% of U.S. local advertisers bought AM/FM radio advertising in 2024.[35]
  • £747.3 million was the total UK commercial-radio advertising revenue in 2025.[11]
  • £112.7 million was UK commercial radio’s local advertising revenue in 2025.[11]
  • £392.9 million was UK commercial radio’s national advertising revenue in 2025.[11]

Digital marketing in the radio industry

  • £89.5 million was UK commercial radio’s digital advertising revenue in 2025.[11]
  • $2.1 billion was U.S. radio-industry digital revenue in 2024.[15]
  • 71% of U.S. radio advertisers bought social media advertising in 2024.[35]
  • 25% was the approximate share of the average U.S. radio station’s total income generated by digital revenue in 2024.[15]

Branding in the radio industry

  • £152.1 million was UK commercial radio’s branded-content revenue in 2025.[11]
  • £144.7 million was UK commercial radio’s branded-content revenue in 2022.[11]
  • £151.1 million was UK commercial radio’s branded-content revenue in 2023.[11]
  • £147.2 million was UK commercial radio’s branded-content revenue in 2024.[11]

Social media in the radio industry

  • 54% of U.S. local advertisers bought social media advertising in 2024.[35]
  • 56% of U.S. radio advertisers bought banner advertising in 2024.[35]
  • 54% of U.S. radio advertisers bought newspaper advertising in 2024.[35]

Influencer Marketing in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 69% of brands using influencer marketing reported using TikTok in 2024, compared with 47% using Instagram, 33% YouTube and 28% Facebook.[36]
  • 17% of media-agency respondents in a 2026 survey said they partnered with influencers to create content for retail media globally.[37]
  • $37.1 billion was projected for U.S. creator advertising spend in 2025, including sponsored content, paid amplification and planned creator adjacencies.[38]
  • 56% of brands said generating user-generated content was the main purpose of their influencer campaigns in 2024, versus 23% citing sales generation.[36]
  • 96% of media-agency respondents in a 2026 survey said social media was used for creator-brand partnerships, making it the most-used channel globally.[37]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Cost and expense moves vary by category in Canadian station examples; Toronto English-language FM stations reported 16.40% PBIT margin in 2024 for designated markets.

Process optimization in the radio industry

  • 1.08% was the increase in total expenses for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]
  • 4.41% was the increase in technical expenses for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]
  • 6.47% was the increase in administration-and-general expenses for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]
  • 2.34% was the decline in programming-and-production expenses for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]

Operational efficiency in the radio industry

  • 16.40% was the 2024 PBIT margin for Toronto English-language FM stations in designated markets.[39]
  • 16.00% was the 2021 PBIT margin for Toronto English-language FM stations in designated markets.[39]
  • 5.1% was the 2025 PBIT margin for large Canadian radio groups.[18]
  • 19.10% was the 2023 PBIT margin for Toronto English-language FM stations in designated markets.[39]

Quality management in the radio industry

  • 21.7% was the share of U.S. streaming-radio listening held by News/Talk stations among adults aged 18 and over in Q1 2024.[40]
  • 80% was the share of U.S. in-car ad-supported audio time going to radio in Q1 2024.[40]
  • 10.8% was the total U.S. radio-listening share of News/Talk among adults aged 18 and over in Q1 2024.[40]
  • 9% was the quarter-over-quarter audience-share gain for U.S. Adult Contemporary radio among adults aged 18 and over in Q4 2024.[40]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the media and publishing sector (sector benchmark)

  • 54% of academic publishers outsourced the majority of typesetting to offshore vendors in 2025, based on a global survey concentrated in the United Kingdom and United States.[41]
  • 65% of surveyed academic publishers were concerned about offshoring work, according to Deanta’s global academic-publishing survey; the survey year is not stated on the source page.[42]
  • 82% of surveyed academic publishers offshored work, according to Deanta’s global academic-publishing survey; the survey year is not stated on the source page.[42]
  • 37% of academic publishers outsourced the majority of copyediting to offshore vendors in 2025, based on a global survey concentrated in the United Kingdom and United States.[41]
  • 28% of academic publishers outsourced the majority of proofreading to offshore vendors in 2025, based on a global survey concentrated in the United Kingdom and United States.[41]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Margin and expense sensitivity appears in reported station metrics; Canadian radio-sector PBIT margin in 2025 is 3.2%, while Toronto English-language FM stations’ PBIT margin is 6.9% in 2025.

Pricing strategy in the radio industry

  • £399.1 million was UK commercial radio’s national advertising revenue in 2024.[11]
  • 29.2% of Canadian commercial-radio revenue came from national advertising in 2024.[18]
  • £113.0 million was UK commercial radio’s local advertising revenue in 2024.[11]
  • 66.8% of Canadian commercial-radio revenue came from local advertising in 2024.[18]

Cost reduction in the radio industry

  • 2.34% was the reduction in programming-and-production expenses for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]
  • 1.15% was the decline in sales-and-promotion expenses for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2023.[39]
  • 0.39% was the decline in national time sales for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]
  • 1.99% was the decline in total revenue for Toronto English-language FM stations in 2024.[39]

Profitability in the radio industry

  • 3.2% was the overall Canadian radio-sector PBIT margin in 2025.[18]
  • $22.16 million was the 2024 operating income of Toronto English-language FM stations in designated markets.[39]
  • 6.9% was the PBIT margin for Canadian FM stations in 2025.[18]
  • 0.2 percentage points was the decrease in the Canadian radio sector’s PBIT margin in 2025.[18]

Financial planning in the radio industry

  • $48.08 million was Toronto English-language FM stations’ local time-sales revenue in 2024.[39]
  • $109.57 million was the total 2024 revenue of Toronto English-language FM stations in designated markets.[39]
  • $56.12 million was Toronto English-language FM stations’ national time-sales revenue in 2024.[39]
  • $87.41 million was the total 2024 expenses of Toronto English-language FM stations in designated markets.[39]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Digital service offerings are widespread in station portfolios; 85% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold digital services in 2024.

Product development in the radio industry

  • 15% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold mobile-app development services in 2024.[15]
  • 85% of U.S. radio stations surveyed sold digital services in 2024, indicating widespread development of products beyond traditional broadcasting.[15]
  • 63% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold video-production services in 2024.[15]
  • 75% of surveyed U.S. radio stations sold website design or development services in 2024.[15]
  • 40% of surveyed U.S. radio stations were using generative AI in programming or advertising in 2024.[15]

Value proposition in the radio industry

  • £863.4 million was generated by U.K. commercial audio advertising in the 12 months to Q3 2024 across radio, podcasts and streaming.[11]
  • 54.9% of U.K. live-radio listening hours belonged to commercial radio stations in Q1 2025.[17]
  • 87% of U.K. adults aged 15 and over listened to radio in Q1 2025, with average listening of 20.5 hours per week.[17]
  • 1.027 billion weekly radio-listening hours were recorded in the U.K. in Q1 2025.[17]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Footprint accounting is specific even at program level; BBC Radio 5 Live’s estimated carbon footprint is 44.7 tCO2e for February 2020.

Sustainability in the radio industry

  • 44.7 tCO2e was the estimated carbon footprint of BBC Radio 5 Live in February 2020, including travel, accommodation, office and studio use, materials and location consumption.[43]
  • 80.8% of BBC Radio 5 Live’s estimated February 2020 carbon footprint came from business travel and accommodation.[43]
  • 15.9% of BBC Radio 5 Live’s estimated February 2020 carbon footprint came from office and studio use.[43]
  • 536.4 tCO2e was the estimated annual carbon footprint of BBC Radio 5 Live when the February 2020 estimate was treated as representative of monthly operations.[43]

Carbon footprint in the radio industry

  • 44.7 tCO2e was the estimated carbon footprint of BBC Radio 5 Live in February 2020.[43]
  • 536.4 tCO2e was the estimated annual carbon footprint of BBC Radio 5 Live based on the February 2020 monthly estimate.[43]
  • 80.8% of BBC Radio 5 Live’s estimated February 2020 carbon footprint was attributable to business travel and accommodation.[43]
  • 15.9% of BBC Radio 5 Live’s estimated February 2020 carbon footprint was attributable to office and studio use.[43]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Cross-border reach is measured via service exposure; Stingray’s 540 million consumers in 160 countries were reached by its music, digital, advertising and radio services in 2025.

Globalization in the radio industry

  • 540 million consumers in 160 countries were reached by Stingray’s global music, digital, advertising and radio services in 2025.[21]
  • More than 75 million active listeners per month worldwide used TuneIn before its acquisition by Stingray in 2025.[21]
  • More than 100,000 radio stations, podcasts, music channels, news, sports and audiobook services were available through TuneIn worldwide in 2025.[21]
  • 97 radio stations were included in Stingray’s global portfolio when it agreed to acquire TuneIn in 2025.[21]

Supplier management in the radio industry

  • At least 3,500 non-iHeartMedia radio stations were represented by iHeartMedia’s Katz Media sales organization in 2024.[19]
  • More than 700 television stations were also represented by Katz Media alongside its radio-station portfolio in 2024.[19]
  • 15% was the annualized benefit in 2024 from Cumulus Media’s planned $43 million of fixed-cost savings actions.[19]
  • More than 9,500 affiliated stations received Cumulus Media’s nationally syndicated sports, news, talk and entertainment programming through Westwood One in 2024.[19]

Stakeholder management in the radio industry

  • Nine out of ten Americans listened to iHeart broadcast radio in an average month, according to the company’s 2025 acquisition announcement.[50]
  • $2.1 billion was U.S. radio’s digital revenue in 2024, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau and Borrell Associates.[15]
  • More than 200 million monthly listeners were reached by Audacy’s local radio, podcast and digital content in 2024.[19]
  • Nearly 25% of the average U.S. radio station’s total income came from digital revenue in 2024.[15]

Distribution channels in the radio industry

  • 74.6% of U.K. radio listening hours came through digital platforms in Q4 2025.[51]
  • 500-plus platforms and thousands of devices carried iHeartRadio content in 2024, including automotive systems, smartphones, gaming consoles and smart speakers.[19]
  • 29.8% of U.K. radio listening hours came through online platforms in Q4 2025.[51]
  • 50.145 million people reached U.K. radio weekly in Q3 2025, equal to 86.1% of the measured adult population.[51]
  • 18.5% of U.K. radio listening hours came through smart speakers in Q4 2025.[51]

Key questions about the Radio Industry

What is the current size of the radio advertising market in 2026?
Terrestrial radio is forecast to generate $19.3 billion in advertising revenue in 2026 despite continued migration toward streaming audio and podcasts.
How fast is radio revenue changing over 2024–2029 in the U.S.?
U.S. total radio revenue is projected to decline from $14.42 billion in 2024 to $13.40 billion in 2029, a negative five-year CAGR of 1.45%. U.S. digital radio revenue is forecast to reach $2.5 billion in 2026, up 9.5% from 2025.
Which companies lead the radio industry?
iHeartMedia leads Gitnux's 2026 radio ranking with an Overall score of 9.6, with Nielsen-identified largest U.S. broadcast-radio audience among audio companies. RTL Group is the highest-ranked radio broadcaster at 9.4, thanks to operation of radio alongside television, streaming, digital and publishing businesses.
What technology shifts matter most for radio in 2026?
The principal structural shift is from terrestrial broadcasting to streaming audio, podcasts and digital advertising. Global streaming-audio advertising is forecast to grow 7.9% to $8.3 billion in 2026 while terrestrial radio declines 2.7% to $19.3 billion.
How is the radio industry structured across markets?
The U.S. market includes large national groups alongside independent and nonprofit stations, while Canada reports commercial traditional-radio revenue by local and national time sales and by language segments.
What does audience measurement indicate about radio’s role in ad-supported listening?
In FCC-cited Edison Research 2023 Share of Ear, AM/FM radio accounts for 36% of time spent listening among U.S. consumers aged 13+. Nielsen reported in Q3 2026 that radio remained the largest component of U.S. ad-supported listening time, with radio and podcasts together accounting for 83% of the ad-supported audio day.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Radio Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/radio-industry-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Radio Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/radio-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Radio Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/radio-industry-statistics.

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