AM/FM Radio Continues To Dominate In-Car Listening.

There’s good news for AM/FM radio when it comes to listening in vehicles. Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group’s annual analysis of Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” report of in-car listening trends, overall, and broken down by ad-supported audio or by vehicle brand, shows AM/FM radio remains far ahead of its audio competition, and has rebounded to pre-COVID listening levels.

As Westwood One’s blog points out, these findings are especially important for automakers, since Edison has asked consumers “What is the model year and brand of your primary car or truck – that is, the one vehicle you spend the most time driving or riding as a passenger?” since “Share of Ear” began in 2014.

“For product design and operations teams at auto manufacturers, it is important to understand the massive use of AM/FM radio among in-car listeners,” Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard says. “AM/FM radio is a powerful platform to reach American drivers to build auto brands and reach auto intenders. Auto design teams want to understand the totality of all in-car listening, [while] auto marketers are focused on media platforms that accept advertising.”

Not surprisingly, AM/FM radio’s greatest strength is among all ad-supported audio, which Edison reports claims two-thirds (66%) of Americans’ in-car listening time, with 34% going to ad-free audio. In this universe, AM/FM’s share of in-car listening among persons 18+ is an impressive 85%, with the remaining 15% divided among podcasts (7%), ad-supported SiriusXM (4%), and Spotify and Pandora (2% each).

Taking into account all audio listening, AM/FM radio, including both ad-supported and ad-free, is still miles ahead with a 56% share, with ad-free SiriusXM a distant second at 13%.

When Edison’s data is broken down by the brand of the primary car driven by respondents, AM/FM radio is still the clear leader, with Chevrolet, Honda and Subaru showing higher shares than AM/FM’s overall 56% (which is matched by Toyota). When it comes to parent auto companies, General Motors also over-indexes for AM/FM radio listening, at 62%.

Data broken out for Tesla drivers, providing a view of how EV drivers’ audio habits may differ, shows AM/FM radio remains dominant with a 51% share, with podcasts at 12% and ad-free SiriusXM 10%. Looking at just ad-supported audio listening among Tesla drivers, AM/FM rules at 74%, followed by 17% for podcasts.

As to how ad-supported audio listening breaks down for the other auto brands, AM/FM radio’s share ranges from 82%-90%, with Chevrolet and Kia claiming that 90%. Other over-indexers include BMW, Hyundai, Audi, Honda and Lexus. As for parent companies, GM again scores higher, with an 88% for AM/FM. “With an average ad-supported in-car share of 85%, these charts depict the huge opportunity that AM/FM radio affords auto marketing teams,” Bouvard says.

Also benefiting AM/FM radio in-car listening is a rebound in share since the COVID years, when it dropped below 40%. “In 2023, the proportion of AM/FM radio listening in the car grew twelve points from 2022 (38% to 50%),” Bouvard notes. “Since then, the proportion of total AM/FM radio listening occurring in cars has held steady at 50%, returning to the pre-pandemic norms.”