The return-to-office story feels as if it’s reached its endpoint. Ad buyers commute at nearly the same rate as last spring, and for the same number of days as a year ago, leaving radio’s sales pitch to a settled audience rather than a constantly changing one.
Cumulus Media’s Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard outlined the findings of an Advertiser Perceptions survey of 304 marketers and agencies, conducted October 1 to 13. In that survey, 59% commute to work all or most days, down from 64% in April, while 32% commute some days and 8% work from home only. Those commuting in some fashion total 91%, up from 63% in April 2022.
Edison Research’s Share of Ear data for the fourth quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026 puts AM/FM radio at 81% of ad-supported audio time in the car among persons 18 and older. Podcasts account for 9%, ad-supported SiriusXM 4%, ad-supported Spotify 3%, ad-supported Pandora 2%, and ad-supported YouTube Music 0.6%.
In May, Radio Ink reported that marketer commuting reached 64% in April, the highest since tracking began in 2022, with commuting marketers averaging 4.4 office days a week. Commuters averaged 4.2 days in October 2024 and November 2025, the same as in this survey.
A Quantilope study of 1,600 adults 18 and older, also conducted in October, found 87% of pre-COVID commuters now work outside the home, compared with 91% of marketers and agencies. Marketers and agencies who commute average 4.2 days a week in the office, while average Americans log 4.7 days. Five days a week in the office is the most common schedule for both groups, at 51%.
Marketers and agencies are most likely to be in the office Tuesday and Wednesday, at 88% each, followed by 86% on Thursday, 78% on Monday, and 67% on Friday. For average Americans, Wednesday leads at 84%, with Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 82% and Friday at 75%. Weekend work is more common among Americans, at 25% on Saturday and 16% on Sunday, compared with 11% and 3% for marketers and agencies.
Meetings with media vendors have resumed in person for 80% of marketers and agencies, up from 41% in April 2022, and 81% have resumed in-person conferences and events, up from 33% over the same period.
Bouvard’s full analysis is available via the Audio Active Group.
