Radio advocates are still talking up the latest U.S. commercial industry overview from Arbitron, released last week.
More than 90 percent of all consumers aged 12 and older listen to the radio each week, giving our medium a higher penetration than television, magazines, newspapers or the Internet.
That information is found in the company’s annual radio industry study, “Radio Today 2009 Edition,” which was issued during the NAB Radio Show. This also is the first annual report that includes Portable People Meter data from several major markets as well as diary data.
For more than a decade — between spring 1997 and fall 2008 — radio’s overall cumulative audience rating has been consistently strong, the company reported. Also noted is that despite availability of numerous media alternatives, radio’s weekly reach declined only modestly in the past several years, from 94.9 percent in spring 2001 (when the iPod was introduced) to 91 percent in fall 2008.
