Radio and podcasts accounted for 83% of daily ad-supported audio listening time in the third quarter of 2026, according to Nielsen’s November edition of The Record, drawing on Nielsen and Edison Research data.
The figure is a share of listening time within ad-supported audio, not a share of all listening or a count of individual listeners. AM/FM includes station streams as well as over-the-air reception. The Share of Ear analysis excludes music and music-video listening on YouTube.
The report also shows why station streaming deserves separate attention: News/Talk, All Sports and All News together account for about 36% of AM/FM station streaming among adults 18 and older, compared with about 17% of all radio listening in that age group.
Nielsen describes Share of Ear’s approach as a 24-hour audio diary. The public report does not supply a quarter-specific respondent count.
For sellers, the findings support a conversation about where audio time is spent. They do not establish the reach or sales results of a particular campaign. That distinction complements RNN’s reporting on the evidence advertisers want when deciding whether to renew.