Radio And Podcasts Dominate U.S. Listening Habits, Nielsen Report Finds

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Americans spent nearly four hours a day listening to audio in the third quarter of 2025, with traditional radio and podcasts together accounting for more than 80% of all ad-supported listening, according to Nielsen’s latest The Record report, produced in collaboration with Edison Research.

The quarterly study tracks how U.S. consumers divide their listening time across platforms such as AM/FM radio, podcasts, streaming music and satellite radio. It found that total daily audio consumption averaged 3 hours and 53 minutes, with ad-supported platforms making up 64% of that total.