AM/FM radio remains the nation’s media reach leader, reaching 87% of US adults on a weekly basis in the first quarter of 2026 and outpacing every other platform Nielsen measured, including smartphone apps, connected TV devices and traditional television.
The figures come as part of Katz Radio Group’s Sound Answers series, drawing on Nielsen Audience Insights Data Tables for the first quarter.
Smartphone app and web use came in second at 82%, followed by TV-connected devices at 78%, live and time-shifted television at 71%, computer internet use at 58%, and tablet app and web use at 41%.
Radio’s weekly reach held steady year over year across every other audience segment Nielsen reported, a contrast with television, which saw a seasonal rebound in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. Katz attributed the television increase to marquee seasonal events including the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.
Smartphone usage also grew during the quarter, with daily app and web time rising by an average of one minute and 28 seconds. Katz framed the smartphone gain as additive rather than substitutional, arguing that consumers are layering digital media onto existing habits rather than replacing radio listening with it.
Despite misperceptions about Gen Z and Millennial usage, radio’s advantage holds among younger consumers.
Weekly reach among adults 18 to 34 hit 81%, ahead of smartphone app and web use at 76%, TV-connected devices at 74%, computer internet at 54%, live and time-shifted television at 49%, and tablet app and web use at 36%. Radio held the top spot in every age break Katz reported, including adults 65 and older, where weekly reach hit 90%, narrowly ahead of television’s 87%.
The findings build on a Westwood One and Advertiser Perceptions commuter study Radio Ink reported on in May, which found terrestrial radio held 83% of in-car, ad-supported audio share using Edison Research data from the same quarter.
