Very well according to Nielsen. The ratings firm says Black and Hispanic consumers make up a third of American radio listeners. And, Nielsen says radio is America’s top weekly reach platform, both overall and with Black and Hispanic consumers — 75 million of whom tune in each week.
According to Nielsen’s just-released July Audio Today report, in each of the past five years more than 30 million Black consumers and 40 million Hispanic consumers have tuned in to their radios. And looking at the overall radio audience, the national radio audience is approximately 14% Black and 17% Hispanic.
The report also looked at specific listening characteristics of Black and Hispanic radio audiences. More than 30 million Black consumers, age 12 and older, tune into radio each week. Forty-seven percent are male and 53% are female, and the most popular time of day to listen is Monday-Friday during afternoon drive. Urban Adult Contemporary is the top format among Black listeners, with nearly one-third of all radio usage going to stations in the Urban AC format. The Hispanic listening audience is 53% male and 47% female. Mexican regional is the No. 1 format overall, and the most popular time of day for radio occurs during midday.
Nielsen also says that Black and Hispanic consumers are very interested in smart speakers and audio streaming services. Nineteen percent of Black consumers and 21% of Hispanic consumers have a smart-speaker device in their household. And 52% of Black consumers and 45% of Hispanic consumers use streaming services for music, radio, and podcasts.
