Radio isn’t just holding its ground; it’s driving the entire audio economy. New Nielsen findings under the three-minute qualifier rule are proving what broadcasters already know: when radio’s in the mix, every campaign delivers more reach, resonance, and ROI.
The RAB’s “Tune Into Growth” webinar, part of its One Voice For Radio series, took a quantitative turn as Nielsen Senior Director of Audience and Consumer Insights John Miller presented a new dataset underscoring radio’s unmatched national reach and the measurable lift created by Nielsen’s three-minute qualifier.
“Radio’s national currency is delivering,” Miller said as he guided attendees through a dense series of data slides. “Nationwide campaign metrics are on the rise.”
According to Nielsen’s Q2 2025 Comparable Metrics report, Over-the-Air radio maintains the highest monthly reach of any US media platform among adults 18+, surpassing live TV, streaming, and mobile devices. That dominance extends across demographics: radio reaches 92% of US adults monthly, including Black and Hispanic consumers, where radio continues to post the highest engagement levels.
Miller detailed how Nielsen’s January 2025 implementation of the three-minute qualifier has fundamentally reshaped measurable listening without changing behavior. The data show substantial gains: across the top 45 Portable People Meter markets, average audience rose 17%, driven by a 13% increase in daily time spent and a 3% gain in daily cume.
By daypart, Average Quarter Hour grew 20% in morning drive, 15% midday, 19% in afternoon drive, and 18% on weekends, with adults 25–54 showing even stronger gains of up to 21% during PM drive.
When scaled to the national level, the impact held steady. Nielsen’s nationwide survey comparing Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 found a 6% increase in total impressions and GRPs across all DMAs for adults 25–54. Gains appeared across every buying demo: impressions rose 3–4% among adults 18–49, 6–7% among men and women 18+, and up to 12% among high-income adults ($75K+).
The 2025 Nielsen Global Marketing Survey revealed a sharp contrast between perception and performance. Less than half of marketers surveyed rated radio as effective, yet ROI data from Nielsen Global Compass Benchmarks ranked radio second only to social media in actual return on investment.
Using Nielsen Media Impact, Miller demonstrated how shifting just 20% of a digital and video campaign’s budget to national radio increased reach among adults 25–54 by 26%, from 74.5 million to 93.6 million consumers, while lowering the CPM from $17 to $12. The optimized plan also increased total impressions from 299 million to 416 million, and “effective reach” of listeners exposed three or more times jumped 39%, adding 8.8 million more consumers to that high-frequency tier.
Miller had high praise for network radio performance. More than 93% of all radio listeners tune to a network-affiliated station weekly, according to the Nielsen Audio National Regional Database. Income trends further highlight network radio’s value to advertisers: 42% of 18–34 network listeners live in households earning $75,000 or more annually.
As for the combination of OTA radio and podcasts, there may not be a better combination for advertisers. Data show that podcasting alone reaches about 50% of adults 18–34, but when layered with radio, that figure is higher than 94% national penetration.
Miller used this to close the session with a simple conclusion grounded in the data: radio’s reach, stability, and cost efficiency remain unmatched. “Radio and podcasts account for more than 80% of daily time spent with ad-supported audio,” he said. “And the impact of the three-minute qualifier is boosting campaign delivery nationwide.”
