• by Erik Sass , September 24, 2007

Radio is still an almost universal medium, according to a poll by American Media Services, which found that 63% of American adults report listening to radio every day.

The trend lines are encouraging for radio broadcasters, with 72% of respondents saying they listen to radio at least as frequently as they did five years ago, if not more.

The AMS phone survey of 1,017 adults in the first half of September confirmed some conventional wisdom about radio--but also contained some surprises.

One finding that may strike radio skeptics as counterintuitive: adults 25-34 actually report listening to radio more than other adults, with 79% saying they listen every day.

The phone survey confirmed radio's primacy in the car, with 74% of respondents saying they listen there. However, a common complaint was the ratio of commercials to music airplay--suggesting that anti-clutter initiatives, like Clear Channel's "Less Is More" campaign, may pay off in the future with higher listening rates.