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“Who would have thought, in this brave new
technological world, that one of the media of

the future
would also be one of the oldest?”

– Chris Campling, timesonline.co.uk, March 2009

They say we’re making a comeback. You know we
never went away. Radio has been an integral part of
American life since 1920. We’re a trusted source of
entertainment and information for virtually every
man, woman and child in America. So integral that
some have forgotten just how relevant radio is and
how much it means to them. With your help as a radio
insider, the “Radio Heard Here” campaign is going
to remind them – and reignite our national passion
for a medium that’s more relevant to listeners and
advertisers than ever before. We want you to join
the army of Radio Ambassadors who will tell our
story and ensure that radio’s value is recognized
now and in the future.

Radio Remains Relevant

Radio has added six million listeners
over the past six years.

240M
229 230 231 232 235 235 192M

144M

96M

48M
‘04
‘05 0M
‘06
‘07
‘08
‘09

Data reported in March of each year for consumers

12 and older using radio (millions)1
1
 Speak up, speak out, speak for us all.

The purpose of this booklet is to help you

participate in the national conversation about
radio with the latest facts about the medium
and its vitality.

We’re starting by empowering you, the radio

insider, to sing radio’s praises to influencers,
consumers, advertisers and others. In the
following pages of this guide, you’ll find
information you can use to educate your
colleagues, your community and your
business partners on the great story –
and future – of radio.

point 1: Radio reaches everyone.

92% LISTEN WEEKLY.

You can enjoy radio no matter where you live,

how much money you make, what interests
or education you have. Radio reaches an
overwhelming majority of Americans each
week. And, you don’t need an expensive gadget
to enjoy radio – it’s accessible to everyone.

Radio Reaches More People

Percentage of consumers reached by each of these
major media sources in a typical week.2

100%

92% 80%

75% 60%

40%
48%
48% 20%
Radio 0%
Internet
Newspaper
2 Yellow Pages
92 %
of Americans 12
and older listen to
radio weekly.3
say radio plays an important
part in American life.4

Over 235 million Americans listen

to radio regularly.5

6 million new listeners were added

between March 2004 and March 2009.6

3
 point 2: Radio Technology is Everywhere.

Radio is adapting, changing, exploring,

innovating, investing and responding to a
changing world. Radio can be heard on the
Internet, mobile phones and MP3 players,
creating new choices for consumers. Radio
continues to maintain its status as a favored
choice for new music discovery, entertainment
and information.

This isn’t by accident — radio is embracing

new technologies and is responding to
marketplace changes with programming
innovations and new technologies, such as
HD Radio™. Radio’s goal is to be available
anywhere there are speakers or headphones.

Radio Is Driving Technology

There are nearly 7,000 streaming radio stations
in the U.S. And the number is growing.7

7000

6,974 5600

4200
3,500 4,250
2800

1400

‘07 0
‘08
‘09

4
The iheartradio application for the Apple®
iPhone™ has been downloaded more
than a million times.8

11million
mobile wireless subscribers listen to
streaming online music or radio on
their mobile phone.9

5
innovation
“There’s never been more

in radio than there is today. …Radio is

now becoming a more important
component to consumer electronics.”

– David Rehr, quoted in Radio World, January 2009

6
New Ways to Enjoy Radio.

Radio has introduced the following innovations

to help consumers access and enjoy their
favorite information and entertainment:

ÆÆ Mobile phone applications

ÆÆ MP3 player – radio tuner

ÆÆ Online streaming

ÆÆ HD Radio “push to buy”

ÆÆ Audio search

ÆÆ Podcasting and on-demand

ÆÆ iTunes® tagging

ÆÆ Buy from FM

Radio Is Mobile
Radio functionality is growing more rapidly
than MP3 functionality on mobile phones.10

150%

120%

90%

60%

30%

0%
MP3

Radio

7
 Point 3: Radio Offers More Choices Than Ever.

As the radio industry continues to drive

innovation and technology, it offers more choices
than ever before. Listeners can listen to more
than 1,800 digital stations available on the air
and online, and this number is growing fast.

What kind of stations are on HD Radio?

ÆÆ My HD – interactive request channel

ÆÆ Club Phusion – dance hits
ÆÆ Hispanic Reggaeton – Latin fusion
ÆÆ Foggy Mountain – classic country
ÆÆ Full Metal Racket – hard rock and
heavy metal
ÆÆ Joke Joke – all comedy
ÆÆ Mother Trucker – southern rock
ÆÆ National Geographic – world music
ÆÆ Undies Indie Rock – underground
college and indie rock
ÆÆ The Walk – contemporary Christian
ÆÆ The Bayou – blues

HD Radio On The Rise

There are more than 1,800 HD radio stations in
the U.S., and the number continues to grow.11

2000

1600

1200

800

400

‘05 0
‘06
‘07
‘08
‘09
8
33million
Americans listen to online radio every week.12

23 million Americans have listened

to audio podcasts of AM/FM broadcasts in
the last month.13

9
 point 4: Radio is Resilient.
It is GROWING IN A TIME-STARVED WORLD.

Radio has demonstrated outstanding listener

retention in an increasingly time-starved world.

Unprecedented changes in technology and

lifestyle have compressed activities into
smaller and smaller windows. Consumers are
spending less time at the gym, less time with
the kids, less time with books; they’re even
sleeping less. But listening time has dropped
only slightly. That’s because radio is the one
medium that is an ideal companion to other
activity. People listen while they drive, work
out or do the dishes. And they’re listening to
Internet streams on the job or while doing their
homework. So even in a time-compressed
world, radio is a great choice.

ÆÆ The number of Americans playing 25 or more

rounds of golf has dropped by one-third.14

ÆÆ The percentage of American adults reading

a daily newspaper has dropped from
58.6% in 1998 to 48% in 2008.15

ÆÆ Yet, radio’s audience remains stable,

reaching 92% of Americans 12 and over
each week.16

ÆÆ And, over the past 10 years, radio has

retained 87% of its time spent listening.17

10
Americans are listening everywhere

At work On the run

On mobile phones On their computers
In the garage In the bedroom
On MP3 players At the beach
On the porch At the park
In the pool On the street
In the shower On the bus
In the laundry In the tent
room

More Than 2 Hours A Day

Average minutes consumers spent with these
major media sources in the last 24 hours.18

150

126 120

90
85
60

30
Radio
29 0
Internet

Newspaper

11
 Radio Heard Here: the campaign.

The Radio Heard Here campaign is designed

to underscore the broadening versatility of
radio’s content, the pioneering innovation of its
technology and the continuing relevance of the
medium in Americans’ lives.

The initiative is comprised of four major pillars:

ÆÆ Accessible technology.
Efforts are under way to ensure that radio
is integrated with a variety of electronic
devices. A core tenet of the campaign is
that radio should be available wherever
there is a speaker or headphone, and
particularly on all mobile devices.

ÆÆ Playlist variety and format diversity.

We must communicate the industry’s
progress toward offering listeners greater
variety and choice.

ÆÆ Building for the future.

We are taking a proactive approach toward
ensuring radio’s progress and prosperity in
the future, including promoting the growth of
our listening audience and consumer reach.

ÆÆ Reigniting consumers.
We must remind listeners of the many
benefits of radio and the broad variety of
people, places and purposes it connects.

12
Citations and Sources.

1. ©Arbitron RADAR ® 80, March 2004, 229 million.

Arbitron RADAR 84, March 2005, 230 million.
Arbitron RADAR 88, March 2006, 231 million.
Arbitron RADAR 92, March 2007, 232 million.
Arbitron RADAR 96, March 2008, more than 235 million listeners.
Arbitron RADAR 100, March 2009, more than 235 million listeners.
2. Arbitron RADAR 100, March 2009, more than 235 million listeners.
Harris Interactive, “Four Out of Five Adults Now Use the Internet,”
www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID =973. Newspaper
Association of America (NAA ), Newspaper’s Reach: The Competitive Edge
2008, report. Knowledge Networks Statistical Research for the Yellow Pages
Association, “The 2008 Yellow Pages Association Industry Usage Study –
National Results,” Print in the Mix – A Clearinghouse of Research on Print
Media Effectiveness, Printing Industry Center at Rochester Institute of
Technology, http://printinthemix.rit.edu/summaries/show/54.
3. Arbitron RADAR 100, March 2009, more than 235 million listeners.
4. ©American Media Services, Radio Index, April 2006.
5. See citation number 1.
6. “The Radio Marketing Guide, Weekly Reach,” www.radioheardhere.com/ads.
7. Inside Radio/M Street Corporation, February 2009
8. Tricia Duryee, “mocoNews – Clear Channel Says Mobile And Online Lifts
Radio Audience By 15 Percent,” March 16, 2009, www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/15/AR 2009031501401.html.
9. Nielsen study cited in Paul Heine, “RAB : Mobile Marketing Offers
Opportunity for Radio,” Mediaweek, March 17, 2009, www.mediaweek.com/
mw/content_display/esearch/e3i596171dbfcfa689ac017b295294b0429.
10. Ian Williams, “Mobile users tune-in to the radio,” vnunet.com, February 29,
2008, www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2210900/mobiles-making-sweet-
music-radio.
11. “Stations on the Air,” HD Radio, www.hdradio.com/find_an_hd_digital_
radio_station.php.
12. Arbitron, “Significant Highlights,” The Infinite Dial 2008: Radio’s Digital
Platforms, p. 4, www.arbitron.com/downloads/digital_radio_study_2008.pdf.
13. See citation number 12.
14. Paul Vitello, “More Americans Are Giving Up Golf,” New York Times,
February 21, 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/nyregion/21golf.html.
15. ©Newspaper Association of America, Scarborough Research, Top 50 Market
Report, 1998–2007. NAA , “They Add Value For Advertisers,” Why
Newspapers?, 2008 edition, www.naa.org/docs/TrendsandNumbers/Why%20
Newspapers%202008%20FINAL .pdf.
16. See citation number 3.
17. ©Arbitron, RADAR fall 1996–2006, American Radio Trends, Time Spent
Listening Estimates.
18. ©Bob Pittman, presentation at NABS how 2008. Presentation source: TVB ,
Nielsen Media Research Custom Survey, 2006.
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