Online Audio Moves Toward Ubiquity, Driven By Older Listeners.

Online audio listening in the U.S. continues to climb, reaching another milestone as the format moves closer to universal adoption.

The 2026 edition of Edison Research’s The Infinite Dial finds 81% of Americans age 12 and older listened to online audio during the past month. That is equal to roughly 233 million people who listened to AM/FM webcasts, podcasts, streaming music services. Weekly listening is also approaching a similar level of penetration — 76% of Americans say they listened to online audio during the past week, or about 219 million people.

While online audio adoption once skewed heavily toward younger audiences, recent growth is increasingly being driven by older listeners. Among Americans age 55 and older, monthly online audio listening has surged from 52% in 2024 to 70% in 2026, signaling the technology is rapidly moving into radio’s traditional core demographic.

“For the past three years, listening has been essentially flat among the youngest age group — but the growth is really coming from those 55 and older,” Edison Research Vice President Megan Lazovick said during a webinar presenting the findings.

Lazovick also pointed to the increasing frequency of listening as a notable development. With 76% of Americans listening weekly, she noted that the monthly and weekly figures are now very close together, meaning people who use online audio are doing so regularly. “We’ve met a new milestone with three-quarters of the U.S. population listening to online audio in the last week,” she said.

The findings reinforce how quickly internet-delivered audio has expanded since the early days of the web. When the Infinite Dial survey first measured online audio usage at the turn of the century, only 5% of Americans reported listening to audio delivered over the internet.

Now, more than two decades later, streaming audio has become a core part of how Americans consume audio content across music, talk, and spoken-word programming.

The data shows digital audio options are also rapidly gaining ground as drivers gain easier access to connected dashboards and smartphone integration. Yet AM/FM remains the dominant audio source in the car.

Edison reports 73% of Americans age 18 and older listen to AM/FM in their primary vehicle, keeping it the most widely used in-car audio source.

“Radio is by far the most-used by people on the road,” said Lazovick. But she noted that online audio has “more than doubled” its in-car reach during the past decade, highlighting how quickly digital listening options are gaining traction behind the wheel. The report shows 48% of Americans now listen to online audio in the car, up from 21% in 2016. Podcast listening has also become a meaningful in-vehicle activity, with 37% of drivers and passengers saying they listen to podcasts in the car.

The shift toward streaming is particularly pronounced among younger drivers. Among Americans age 18-34, 73% report listening to online audio in the car. Podcast listening also skews younger, with 55% of drivers age 18-34 listening to podcasts while in a vehicle.

Technology adoption in vehicles often moves slower than other consumer tech because of the long life cycle of automobiles. At the same time, Lazovick said newer vehicles are making it easier for drivers to access digital audio services. Edison reports 41% of Americans who have driven or ridden in a car during the past month say their primary vehicle has Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, while 34% say they actively use those systems.

Smart speakers remain a significant albeit slower-growing part of the digital audio ecosystem. Edison Research estimates 39% of Americans now own a smart speaker, equal to roughly 112 million people.

Lazovick said a bigger disruptor has been the smartphone, now used by 91% of adults. “It has completely changed America's media consumption habits,” she said.

Download the report HERE.