AM/FM Radio Still Dominates Canada’s Ad-Supported Audio Landscape.

In a media environment where new options to pull in consumers seemingly appear on a daily basis, listening is a habit that is hard to break. New research from Signal Hill Insights offers the latest evidence, as it finds nine-in-ten Canadians listen to some form of audio media on a daily basis — and half of that time is to something ad-supported.

Signal Hill’s new “Audio on the Move” report, which is Canada’s first holistic study providing the growing audio industry a comprehensive view of how and when Canadians are listening, reveals that AM/FM radio remains the media that captures the largest share of ad-supported listening as it accounts for 39% of that time among people age 12 and older. That puts broadcast radio well ahead of listening to music via YouTube’s or-a streaming music service’s ad-supported options, which is something that roughly one in four Canadians reported doing.

Even so, Signal Hill says the data reveals a growing evolution in how people are accessing audio content. According to the report, the share of audio listening done to the video-centric platforms YouTube and YouTube Music is now essentially on par with the other big streaming music services such as Spotify.

“Audio is a fundamental part of nearly every Canadian’s daily life,” said Matt Hird, VP of Research for Signal Hill Insights. “Yet, as the rising use of YouTube for music listening demonstrates, their audio choices and preferences continue to shift dynamically.”

While podcasts have seen their reach climbing quickly in recent years, Signal Hill says only 9% of Canadians said they listened to an ad-supported podcast in the prior day. Yet that was still nearly five-times the number that tuned into the SiriusXM channels with advertising.

The softer-than-expected podcast numbers are likely most tied to what Canadians prefer to listen to. Signal Hill says the survey found that more than three-quarters of their time — 77% — was spent listening to music, while 23% was spent with spoken-word content.

The study also points out that YouTube is becoming a top destination for audio consumption, as seen with consumers’ rising use of the platform for podcasts. The 2025 Canadian Podcast Listener shows 40% of monthly consumers use YouTube most often for their podcasts, more than any other platform.

The report is based on a nationally representative survey of 6,161 Canadians aged 12 and older conducted in May and June. Researchers asked respondents to report on their use of audio media in the prior day.

The first Audio On the Move study is a successor to the long-running Radio on the Move studies that have been produced by Signal Hill founder Jeff Vidler since 2010. The Toronto-based company that works with several U.S. media companies announced in April that it would be expanding its focus on the flagship report of its home market to reflect the changing media landscape. The subscription report looks look at how audio content is consumed at home, at work, in the car, and on the go via a multitude of devices, apps, channels and platforms. The goal is to provide a clear picture of how audio accompanies and complements daily life.

“Audio on the Move is designed to objectively map the listening landscape so that broadcasters, publishers, advertisers and agencies have the most accurate view of consumer behavior to inform their audio strategies,” says Hird.

The Canadian Podcast Listener study, which was launched in 2017, will continue to be produced separately from the Audio on the Move study to provide a detailed picture of the market’s podcast audience.