Radio Isn't Dead, Half Of In-car Audio Time Is Still Am/fm Radio

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In a world of Spotify, Tidal, and countless different audio streaming services, who listens to terrestrial power successful their car anymore? It's fundamentally nobody, right? Well, location are much power listeners than you whitethorn think, according to a caller study by Edison Research. Its Q1 2026 Share of Ear information reveals that 55% of Americans' in-car audio clip goes to AM/FM radio, pinch each listeners property 13 and older. Streaming only accounts for 16% of our drive-time listening. That's rather a different communicative than the punishment and gloom we've been led to judge that streaming would kill nan power star.

When Edison drills a spot deeper into nan numbers, specifying an property scope of 13 to 34, streaming increases. AM/FM power still earns 46% of listening time, but streaming goes up to 30%, astir double nan wide figure. It whitethorn beryllium that older group thin to instrumentality pinch what they know, which is AM/FM broadcasts, and not this new-fangled streaming thing. Likewise, younger group grew up pinch integer and streaming options, arsenic good arsenic nan expertise to take what they perceive to by methods different than a power station's petition line.

However, nan numbers move astir a spot erstwhile looking astatine spoken-word audio. Podcasts return a mini lead here, taking up 40% of American's listening time, compared to 39% for AM/FM power — nary property favoritism was made here, simply each Americans complete nan property of 13. 

In 2015, spoken connection audio connected nan power held a ascendant 75% lead, which was to beryllium expected pinch each of its talk shows and shot games. But since then, podcasts person skyrocketed successful popularity, possibly because they are not only disposable connected demand, but because there's a podcast these days for immoderate taxable you tin imagine. Even wrong nan comparatively niche automotive world, you person everything from aged standards like The Smoking Tire to caller upstarts like Trans Girlismo, and everything successful between.

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Despite radio's continuing popularity, Tesla, Rivian, and moreover Ford person been eliminating astatine slightest AM radios from caller models. This move has been peculiarly prevalent among EVs, whose electrical motors make interference pinch AM power reception. Eliminating this interference would cost manufacturers billions – they don't want to walk that money if they don't person to.

However, they whitethorn person to. Customers and politicians person been pushing backmost difficult against dropping power from modern cars. Ford moreover reversed course after monolithic backlash to eliminating AM radio. The authorities has moreover gone arsenic acold arsenic introducing nan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would require each caller rider car to beryllium equipped pinch an AM radio. (FM does not suffer from nan aforesaid benignant of electrical interference that AM does, truthful it's little apt to beryllium connected manufacturers' chopping blocks.)

This isn't because nan high mean legislator age is AM radio's target demographic, but because AM power remains a captious constituent of nan Emergency Alert System, moreover today. While immoderate of america deliberation of nan EAS arsenic thing much than those amber alerts and false alarms connected our phones, AM power keeps moving erstwhile powerfulness and compartment towers spell down. According to nan National Association of Broadcasters:

77 power stations play a important domiciled serving arsenic Primary Entry Points (PEPs) crossed nan country, a immense mostly of which are AM stations. These are designated power stations whose signals screen 90% of nan American organization and person a nonstop relationship to FEMA and nan National Weather Service (NWS). In times of crisis, these stations person emergency accusation and alerts straight from nan national government, ensuring a reliable and charismatic root of accusation for nan public.

Many agrarian areas still don't person reliable compartment service, including wherever I live. When section Wi-Fi cuts retired during a powerfulness outage, that leaves nary relationship to nan extracurricular world too radio. AM, successful particular, has a wide sum area unaffected by compartment service. Home power ownership is dropping rapidly, leaving nan car arsenic nan only disposable power successful galore cases. Every car should person one.