As TV Declines, Audio Rises in Advertiser Strategies.

There was a time when watching television during primetime was a shared ritual. Families gathered around the screen, advertisers had a reliable way to reach them, and the 30-second commercial was king. But that era is long gone.

That’s according to a new Audacy Insights study, which notes that audiences today are no longer tied to schedules. The grip of traditional TV has loosened significantly — and now, 60% of all viewers fall into the “zero” or “light TV” category.

Audience habits are evolving, and advertisers should adapt accordingly, Audacy says. Radio already holds the attention — and trust — of listeners. In fact, broadcast radio alone reaches 77% of light and no-TV viewers.

Modernize Your Media Strategy

This means it’s time to reconsider outdated planning models. Overweighting TV budgets doesn’t reflect the changing media landscape. Audio and digital platforms are not only capturing the attention that TV is losing, but they’re doing it with greater targeting capabilities. The benefits? Smarter media investments, stronger returns, and campaigns that engage people where they actually are.

“As TV fragments,” Audacy says, “Audio unites. Brands that shift spend into Audio and digital video don’t just keep up with consumer behavior — they get ahead of it.”

Citing a recent case study, Audacy says a national insurance brand learned firsthand how shifting TV spent to Audio delivers results.

For the insurance brand, with fewer viewers tuning into ad-supported TV, its question became a matter of effectively reaching its audience. The brand discovered that 63% of its target audience was hard to reach on TV. It found a solution by reallocating just 10% of its TV spend to a mix of the Audacy Audio Network and Premier Network Radio.

The outcome was impressive: Not only did the campaign deliver a 49% increase in audience reach, its cost was minimal. The company only lost a point of dedicated TV reach while 12 points of total audience reach.

In this particular case, TV returns began to plateau, but integrating radio expanded reach significantly. This approach, Audacy says, served as a smart way to stretch media dollars further.

In a second case study, a local law firm in Miami encountered a common obstacle: TV-heavy strategies were missing large segments of their audience — “56% of the market was difficult to reach with a TV-centric approach,” Audacy says.

The advertiser found success by diversifying its media strategies beyond traditional TV. Shifting part of its budget to Audacy radio increased campaign reach significantly, from 44% to 71%, a level of impact TV alone couldn’t deliver. Radio proved effective at broadening audience reach.

Building on that, the strategy added OTT (over-the-top) video. By reallocating just 10% of the TV budget to OTT, advertisers saw a strong return: OTT impressions reached new audiences that TV couldn’t. This small shift had a big impact on total campaign reach without significantly affecting TV’s performance.

The combined approach showed clear synergy: radio offers broad reach, OTT adds targeted precision, and TV remains a valuable component without dominating the budget. Together, they form a more balanced and effective media mix.