AM/FM Radio Streaming Profile: Younger, More Female, And Mostly In Home DMA

September 9, 2019 By Doug Hyde

While streaming is a natural extension of an AM/FM radio station’s brand, there are several distinctions between the profile of the streaming audience and the over-the-air audience of AM/FM radio stations. These differences make streaming a powerful and valuable complement to an investment in AM/FM radio.

Westwood One analyzed audience data from over 88,000 consumers who recently registered on the Cumulus Radio Station Group sites that make up the Cumulus Radio Station Group Digital Streaming Network. We examined the age, gender, and location data from these listeners between April and July of 2019.

Here’s what we found:

Targeting women? Use AM/FM radio streaming

While half of the on-air audience to Cumulus Radio Station Group music AM/FM radio stations is female, 62% of the music streaming audience consists of women. Given AM/FM radio streaming is strongest during the workday (between the hours of 9AM and 5PM) and women dominate office environments, it makes sense that streaming of music formats leans more female.

Every music programming format on streaming shows a higher composition of women compared to the on-air audience. For the Country format, the 53% over-the-air female audience composition grows to 72% for the online stream. The Classic Hits female composition is much higher for the stream (62%) versus over-the-air (47%).

Targeting 18-34 younger consumers? AM/FM radio streams have more of them

The median age of the Cumulus Radio Station Group music streams is 40, five years younger than the on-air audience. The 18-34 audience composition of the Cumulus Radio Station Group music streaming audience is 37%, a much larger composition of Millennials than the on-air audience (27%).

Targeting 25-54s? AM/FM radio streams have more of them

The proportion of 25-54s is also higher in the music streaming audience (67%) versus the on-air audience (52%).

AM/FM radio is the soundtrack of the American worker. Prime time for AM/FM radio streaming is during office hours between 9AM and 5PM. Streaming audiences “collapse to the middle.” Younger stations get older and older stations get younger.

Over 80% of the music streaming audience is located in the home DMA

Think most AM/FM radio streaming is reaching consumers who live far away from the station’s home market? Think again. 81% of the Cumulus Radio Station Group music streaming audience is located in the station’s home DMA. That means streaming ads provide extra impact and message frequency for advertisers looking to reach consumers in the market where they do business.

Sports and News/Talk streaming audiences skew younger

Spoken word formats have the same male audience composition on-air and online: 86% male for streaming Sports compared to 85% on-air and 70% male for streaming News/Talk compared to 65% on-air.

However, the Sports and News/Talk streaming audience is younger with a higher 25-54 audience composition. For Sports programming formats, 54% of the over-the-air audience is 25-54, while the 25-54 streaming composition grows to 65%.

News/Talk shows the same story. The 25-54 audience composition is higher in streaming (40%) versus over-the-air audiences (26%).

Smart speakers power growth of Cumulus Radio Station Group streaming

With the largest collection of Alexa skills at an audio company, Cumulus Radio Station Group has seen significant smart speaker streaming audience growth. In September 2017, 2% of Cumulus Radio Station Group’s streaming audience came from smart speakers. As of July 2019, smart speakers represent an astonishing 18% of the Cumulus Radio Station Group streaming audience.

The result? The Cumulus Radio Station Group has enjoyed consistent year over year growth in streaming audience in 2019.

Come stream with the Cumulus Radio Station Group Digital Streaming Network

Cumulus Radio Station Group streaming is on the rise and offers advertisers a growing audience rich in 25-54 female listening and shopping in their home market as well as a younger, male audience of spoken word formats.

Key takeaways:

  • Targeting women? Use AM/FM radio streaming
  • Targeting 18-34 and 25-54s? AM/FM radio streams have more of them
  • Sports and News/Talk streaming audiences skew younger
  • Streaming enhances in-market coverage: 80% of the music streaming audience is located in the home DMA
  • Smart speakers power growth of Cumulus Radio Station Group streaming

Doug Hyde is Senior Director, National & Local Insights at CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.