Andrew Curran, President and CEO, DMR/Interactive
Why It Matters: Local advertising dollars are booming, but radio continues to decline. Playing the Rodney Dangerfield “I get no respect” card with advertisers isn’t working. It’s time for radio to retire the bit.
Radio doesn’t need another study proving its reach and ROI are underappreciated by advertisers. It needs a business strategy that makes its impact impossible to ignore.
For decades, radio has argued that advertisers don’t appreciate its reach, effectiveness and return on investment.
The research supports that argument. Advertiser Perceptions recently found that marketers believe radio reaches just 43% of Americans weekly. Nielsen puts the actual number at 86%.
It’s a staggering disconnect. But repeating the same argument isn’t changing the outcome. According to BIA Advisory Services, local advertising will generate $186.1 billion in 2026, an increase of 9% over last year. The market is forecast to grow again in 2027.
Meanwhile, radio continues to lose ground. BIA projects local radio advertising revenue will decline from $12.2 billion in 2026 to $11.4 billion next year.
The problem isn’t a shortage of advertising dollars. It’s radio’s declining ability to compete for them.
Consider this: After 100 years in business, the entire U.S. radio industry is projected to generate roughly the same ad revenue in 2027 as OpenAI, which didn’t start selling advertising until this year. Let that sink in. Alphabet alone is generating advertising revenue at an annualized pace exceeding $320 BILLION.
The marketplace has moved on, while radio continues arguing that it deserves more respect.
Meta, Alphabet and Amazon continue generating double-digit advertising growth with business strategies built around identifying, engaging and monetizing their most valuable users. Radio has an opportunity to apply that same discipline. Consider YouTube. More than 20 million videos are uploaded daily, yet audience attention is concentrated among a small share of creators.
Radio operates under a similar principle. A relatively small group of heavy listeners generates a disproportionate share of total listening. These aren’t simply loyal fans. They’re the economic foundation of radio’s business. Yet too often, radio prioritizes increasing reach without a corresponding strategy to recruit, protect and engage the heavy listeners who generate the greatest impact.
Radio’s dominant nationwide reach doesn’t translate into local demand for individual stations. Advertisers don’t buy every station in the market. They buy individual audiences. More heavy listening creates opportunities to grow ratings, increase pricing power and improve advertiser results. That’s why doubling down on heavy listeners needs to be more than a programming philosophy. It needs to become your business strategy.
At DMR/Interactive, we’ve spent decades helping stations recruit and engage the heavy listeners who matter most to their success.
Our approach starts with identifying and protecting existing heavies while using first-party data and targeted marketing to recruit new ones, strengthen listening habits and increase daily cume.
Radio doesn’t need every listener. It needs more heavies.
The local advertising marketplace isn’t waiting for radio to make its case. It’s rewarding companies that know their audiences and deliver measurable growth.
Onward,
Andrew Curran, President and CEO, DMR/Interactive
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