Nielsen has released all Spring 2025 (April-May-June) Portable People Meter markets. There are significant increases in listening across demographics and time periods versus Fall 2024.

Key findings:

• Among persons 25-54, AM/FM radio PPM AQH have soared by +19%. Weekends and nights have the greatest growth compared to Fall 2024.
• Spring 2025 PPM audience growth is consistently strong (+17% to +19%) across all demographics versus Fall 2024.
• Spring 2025 PPM format shares are remarkably stable. The rising PPM tide raises all format boats.
• Nielsen Nationwide projection: Total U.S. AM/FM radio listening is up +7%.

Nielsen’s Portable People Meter modernization

The PPM audience growth is due to Nielsen’s three-minute qualifier modernization, which provides a significantly more comprehensive and realistic definition of AM/FM radio’s audience and their listening behavior.

Nielsen found 23% of PPM listening occasions were three or four minutes. Under the old five-minute listening qualifier rule, none of this tuning would have received listening credit. Effective with the January 2025 PPM survey, Nielsen began crediting tuning occasions that are three minutes or greater.

The AM/FM radio industry and the Radio Advertising Bureau have developed a new resource website with a wide array of tools and information on the Nielsen three-minute qualifier modernization.

Westwood One’s legendary VP of Research Scott Anekstein conducted an analysis of the Spring 2025 PPM data, which aggregated all average quarter-hour audiences from 48 markets to get a macro view of the enhanced three-minute reporting. Scott compared the Spring 2025 data with Fall 2024 (October-November-December) PPM audiences.

Here are the key findings:

Among persons 25-54, AM/FM radio PPM AQH have soared by +19%; Weekends and nights have the greatest growth compared to Fall 2024

Comparing Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 persons 25-54 reveals double-digit PPM growth in all dayparts.

Spring 2025 PPM audience growth is consistently strong (+17% to +19%) across all demographics versus Fall 2024

Across all major buying demographics, Average quarter-hour audiences are up +17% to +19%.

PPM Spring 2025 format shares are remarkably stable; The rising PPM tide raises all format boats

Nielsen Nationwide: Total U.S. AM/FM radio listening is up +7%

Network radio advertisers transact on Nielsen’s national audience service called “Nielsen Nationwide.” Scott Anekstein conducted a national AQH analysis utilizing the latest Spring 2025 PPM markets and all diary markets from the Fall 2024 survey. (PPM metro markets represent over a third of total U.S. AQH (35% P12+) and over half of total U.S. population (53% P12+).

Anekstein combined Nielsen’s PPM AQH audiences from Spring 2025 (with the new three-minute edit rule) with diary audiences from the Fall 2024 Nationwide survey. The comparison revealed total U.S. 25-54 listening grew 7%.

For national marketers, top market indices increase because of the PPM three-minute listening qualification

The first Nationwide survey to reflect the impact of the modernized PPM data will be the Spring 2025 survey, which publishes in September 2025. The growth in PPM audiences will cause top market indices to increase for all U.S. network radio audiences.

Network radio advertisers often assess the proportion of impressions that are generated by the largest markets. PPM markets have always had lower listening levels than diary markets due to the more exact nature of the Portable People Meter listening capture.

Previously, 25-54 listening levels in the top 50 markets were -19% lower than the total U.S. This is due to the fact the PPM method represents the vast majority of AM/FM radio listening in the top 50 markets.

Four implications of PPM listening increases

1. The trend of AM/FM radio surpassing TV in ratings will accelerate: Over the last five years, AM/FM radio has overtaken linear TV in ratings. Based on TV and AM/FM radio audience forecasts, 2026 will see AM/FM radio likely overtake linear TV in the all-important 25-54 demographic and widen its ratings lead over TV among 18-49s.

2. 2025 post-buy analyses will overachieve 2024 media plans: In PPM markets, expect increases in audience deliveries based on prior year schedules. For local buys, outcomes will vary by demographic, markets utilized, and AM/FM radio programming format mix.

For total U.S. media plans using Nielsen’s Nationwide survey, deliveries will grow by low/mid-single digits. Differences will result due to the mix of diary versus PPM market composition in network lineups as well as AM/FM radio programming format mix.

3. AM/FM radio, already America’s number one mass reach media, will experience reach growth in advertising schedules: With PPM now reporting higher AM/FM radio reach levels, campaign reach will experience growth. Since reach is the foundation of advertising effectiveness, this is a positive for AM/FM radio’s performance in media mix modeling analysis.

4. With a three-minute quarter hour qualification, stations can create more breaks of shorter duration, which will significantly benefit advertisers. AM/FM radio ads will become more effective as stations increase the number of commercial breaks with shorter durations. Since the introduction of the Portable Meter, most AM/FM radio stations schedule their two commercial breaks around 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. This strategy was designed to maximize five-minute listening durations.

A massive Portable People Meter study of 17,896,325 unique commercial breaks involving 61,902,473 minutes of advertising conducted by Nielsen, Media Monitors, and Coleman Research reveals the shorter the ad break, the greater the audience retention.

Two-minute ad breaks retain 99% of the lead-in audience. Six-minute ad breaks retain 85% of the lead in audience.

Creating more ad breaks of shorter duration generates larger commercial audiences. Advertisers stand out more in shorter breaks. Growing audience deliveries for AM/FM radio ads improve AM/FM radio’s performance in media mix modeling and marketing effectiveness studies.

Key findings:

• Among persons 25-54, AM/FM radio PPM AQH have soared by +19%. Weekends and nights have the greatest growth compared to Fall 2024.
• Spring 2025 PPM audience growth is consistently strong (+17% to +19%) across all demographics versus Fall 2024.
• Spring 2025 PPM format shares are remarkably stable. The rising PPM tide raises all format boats.
• Nielsen Nationwide projection: Total U.S. AM/FM radio listening is up +7%.

Four implications of PPM listening increases

1. The trend of AM/FM radio surpassing TV in ratings will accelerate.
2. 2025 post-buy analyses will overachieve 2024 media plans.
3. AM/FM radio, already America’s number one mass reach media, will experience reach growth in advertising schedules.
4. AM/FM radio ads will become more effective as stations increase the number of commercial breaks with shorter durations.

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group^®.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.