New Share of Ear data shows AM/FM’s streaming share has doubled over the past decade, and that growth skews heavily toward a daypart many programmers and sales teams increasingly treat as an afterthought, but still carries an audience in the home.
Over the past decade, Edison Research Share of Ear data shows streaming has roughly doubled as a share of total AM/FM listening. Among adults 18 and older, streaming accounted for 7% of AM/FM listening time in the second quarter of 2017; by the second quarter of 2026, that figure had climbed to 14%. Among adults 18 and older who listen to AM/FM radio daily, 10% listen to both the broadcast signal and a stream, and 6% listen only through a stream.
The streaming share of AM/FM listening isn’t constant throughout the day, but provides an interesting opportunity.
In the second quarter of 2026, streaming accounted for 17% to 18% of AM/FM listening minutes between 8p and 11p on weekdays, the highest share of the day, and climbed to 17% again during the 8a hour before falling to a low of 8% between 11a and noon. That nighttime listening could bring more attention to an underloved and often undervalued daypart for radio.
In January, Radio Ink reported found that AM/FM streaming minutes on smart speakers up 73% since 2020, with household ownership of the devices nearing 75%. That report also found smart speaker streaming skews older, with Baby Boomers accounting for 38% of streaming minutes on the devices and Gen X another 36%, compared to 17% for Millennials and 9% for Gen Z.
