How often do Americans listen to radio? Is it still a popular source of music and news?

39 comments

  2. I don’t listen to the radio unless I’m at work being driven around by someone who is.

  3. Only in the car, but I drive only once a week (though every other time tends to be a long drive)

  4. The demise of radio has been predicted for a long time and yet it keeps coming back or sticking around.
    I’m listening to the radio right now for the morning news program and will likely shut it off sometime between when this program ends in a half hour and lunch.
    The best thing radio can do to thrive is become hyper-local some stations understand this others do not. Nobody likes the music stations all owned by the same company with the same 50 song playlist.

  9. I listen to OTR radio maybe a few minutes a month and this has been the case for 15+ years. Most of that is NPR or the game I like to play with the classic rock station; “AC/DC or Tom Petty?” because they’re always playing one or the other.

    Most American radio stations are owned by huge conglomerates like iHeart or Cumulus who have nationalized playlists and removed any identity from the station other than the local ads that play. AOR in Detroit is the same as AOR in Omaha, it’s the same exact playlists, the same reads, the same everything. I would fully expect whatever DJs are left to be replaced by AI in most markets soon.

  10. As the owner of a shitty car, Radio is my only option. Could I swap out the stereo? Sure. But The car is at the point where it’s only worth putting gas and oil changes into.

  11. In the car I do listen to sports talk radio and/or sports broadcasts frequently.

    For music I stream all of it.

  12. I pretty much listen to Spotify exclusively at this point. Radio plays the same shit over and over and has far too many commercials to be enjoyable. Even before that I had been listening to commercial free satellite radio since I guess it was the late 90s.

  14. Every day. But not sure if that is representative of what the average American does.

  15. Often while driving. I also like to listen to baseball games on the radio while at home

  16. Never. Every sound that comes out of the speakers is like ear poison to me. I’d rather have silence.

  17. I only listen to the radio if I’m driving somewhere with my wife (otherwise I just listen to podcasts).

  19. I listen to NPR in the car a lot and lately I usually have the radio on the classical station in the background at home

  20. I only listen to NPR on broadcast radio, and that only when driving. I listen to Sirius XM while driving. That is all.

  21. Podcasting I think is the new radio. Just like radio, but fewer commercials and you can play it when you want. I listen to podcasts and audio books all the time in the car, and music from a streaming device.

    So I guess the answer really is no, I don’t listen to radio much anymore.

  22. I probably listen more than others. But only my local NPR station and local public/college radio station that plays lots of great music (basically the NPR of music).

    I listen while driving, at home on my smart speaker, and sometime while working by streaming on my computer.

  23. My boyfriend listenes to the radio in the car. I don’t drive, I usually have pandora or Amazon music or a podcast on the bus. And at home we just shout song titles at Alexa

  24. Emerson College radio is the best station in Boston. University of Pennsylvania, Temple, and Drexel University stations are the best in Philly. 50+ minutes of music per hour. Great for car trips.

  26. I commonly listen to NPR One when driving. I’ll listen to WNYC live if I’m driving while that’s on air.

  30. I listen to the radio every day. Wyoming public radio because it’s the only station I get that isn’t gawd awful country. I drive an old truck and my options are radio or tape deck 😎

  31. The radio is my only source for news, and I listen every day because I begin work when the BBC starts at 8am London time, then I take a break when the US news cycle begins.

  32. My mom (55) still listens to radio (mainly NPR) and we listen to music on the radio in the car. I’m turning 23 soon and I rely on Spotify for music and social media for news.

  33. The last time I consistently listened to the radio was because I found a morning show I really liked. Then I found their podcast on Spotify….

  34. AM is a wasteland of country, religious and bad top 40 in my area. AM is right-wing talk. So I don’t bother with either. No WFMU or WXPN-type stations, either – the lone NPR is news and classical.

  36. I only ever listen to public radio (NPR or local community stations) or classical music stations when I’m in the states. I cannot stand either on-air personalities or shouty, stupid advertising.

  37. I’m GenX so I do still listen: in the car when I drive: college radio stations. also I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) on weekends, they have interesting news stories from all over the world and other programs I like such as “The Moth Radio Hour” and “This American Life”. I do not know if younger Americans listen to the radio. I doubt it? My parents always had the radio on when I was a kid

  39. Sports radio is still going strong, and I think it will continue to do so because there will almost always be sports, its forever updating, and its hyper local to that team’s city/region.

    Music radio can just die already, with all the streaming options, I don’t see the point.

    News radio can become strong again if it focused more on local demographics instead of generalized topics.

    I personally listen to streaming music, and audio books when I am in the car daily. I haven’t really tuned into a radio station since like high school back in 2000

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