As radio works to finish the fight to ensure it can be found in the automobile dashboard for years to come, new data shows that AM/FM enjoys a wide home-field advantage in the car, while other media platforms win at home, at work, and elsewhere.
Edison Research finds AM/FM and SiriusXM far outperform their overall share of listening in the car, while other platforms win at home, at work, and on the go.
Edison Research at SSRS says audio platforms outperform in different places. Its Share of Ear measures daily audio listening across home, car, work, and anywhere else, and advertisers and contenxt creators can use it to see where platforms overperform compared to total listening and tailor messaging to each location. On Edison’s index, a score above 100 means a platform outperforms its share of total listening.
In the car, two platforms outperform the most. Over-the-air radio has an index of 160, and satellite radio has an index of 232. Recent Share of Ear data puts AM/FM at 81% of ad-supported audio time in the car among persons 18 and older.
At home, YouTube and audiobooks perform strongest. YouTube indexes at 140 for at-home listening and is consumed on devices ranging from mobile devices to laptops to internet-connected TVs. Audiobooks index at 118 at home, their highest of any location, with listening primarily happening on a mobile device.
In other places, such as the grocery store or the gym, streaming music and podcasts index the highest. Edison says both are easily consumed on mobile devices. At work, no platform has its single best performance, though streaming music and podcasts index over 100.
The data arrives as the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act waits in the Senate. The House passed H.R. 979 by voice vote in September, and the Senate companion, S. 315, has more than 60 bipartisan cosponsors.
The NAB has released PSAs in English and Spanish asking radio listeners to contact their members of Congress by texting AM to 39179, urging them to support legislation that ensures AM radio remains in cars. Get them for your station here.
