At a glance
Internet radio is no longer a niche corner of the audio market; the dataset shows broad online audio adoption, platform scale, and a clear shift in how people listen. The strongest signal is simple: 76% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to online audio in the last month, an estimated 218 million people (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
That scale matters because the same dataset also shows that podcasting, smart speakers, and in-car listening are all part of the same larger change. This page pulls the most useful internet radio statistics into one place so you can compare audience reach, device ownership, and platform economics without chasing scattered reports.
Table of contents
- What the latest internet radio statistics say
- Online audio reach and audience size
- Podcasting, smart speakers, and device behavior
- Regional comparisons: Australia and Canada
- Platform and company scale
- What the numbers imply for listeners and publishers
- Key takeaways
What the latest internet radio statistics say
A useful way to think about internet radio is as part of the broader online audio ecosystem rather than as a standalone category. The 2024 data consistently points in that direction, with online audio reach, podcast usage, and smart speaker adoption moving together (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
The biggest reach numbers
Here are the headline figures that best capture current internet radio scale:
- 76% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to online audio in the last month, an estimated 218 million people (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- 90% of U.S. adults age 12-34 listened to online audio in the last month (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- 85% of U.S. adults age 35-54 listened to online audio in the last month (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- 47% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last month (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- 34% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last week (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
Those numbers suggest internet radio is not competing only with traditional broadcast radio. It is also competing with podcasts, streaming services, and on-demand audio habits that overlap heavily with regular music and talk listening.
Audience snapshot table
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults 12+ listening to online audio in the last month | 76% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| Estimated U.S. adults reached | 218 million | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| U.S. adults 12-34 listening to online audio in the last month | 90% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| U.S. adults 35-54 listening to online audio in the last month | 85% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| U.S. adults 12+ listening to a podcast in the last month | 47% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| U.S. adults 12+ listening to a podcast in the last week | 34% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
Online audio reach and audience size
The 2023 and 2024 figures show that online audio reach stayed very high across both years. In 2023, 75% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to online audio in the last month, and 87% of Americans age 12-54 listened in the last month (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023).
That is important because it indicates the audience is already mainstream. The 2024 result of 76% for adults age 12+ does not look like a small test-market trend; it looks like a mature behavior with broad national adoption (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
Age matters, but not the way many assume
The 90% figure for adults age 12-34 is the strongest number in the dataset, but the 85% figure for adults age 35-54 is only slightly behind it (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024). That gap tells you internet radio and online audio have moved well beyond a youth-only audience.
A practical reading of those numbers is that age still shapes format preference, device choice, and listening timing, but it no longer determines whether online audio is part of daily life. The reach is already broad enough that the more interesting questions are about usage patterns rather than adoption itself.
Table: selected U.S. audience indicators
| Audience segment | Stat | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adults 12+ online audio last month, 2023 | 75% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023 |
| Adults 12+ online audio last month, 2024 | 76% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| Adults 12-54 online audio last month, 2023 | 87% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023 |
| Adults 12-34 online audio last month, 2024 | 90% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| Adults 35-54 online audio last month, 2024 | 85% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
What changed from 2023 to 2024
The dataset also shows steady, not explosive, movement in several areas. Monthly online audio was already strong in 2023 at 75%, so the 76% reading in 2024 is more of a confirmation than a breakout. That matters because confirmed reach is often more useful than rapid growth when you are planning inventory, ad placement, or content strategy (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023; Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
The more meaningful movement is in adjacent behaviors:
- Monthly podcast listening among U.S. men rose 4% year over year in 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- Weekly podcast listening among U.S. men rose 3% year over year in 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- Smart speaker ownership slipped from 36% in 2023 to 34% in 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
That combination suggests the market is expanding in usage even while certain hardware categories normalize.
Podcasting, smart speakers, and device behavior
Internet radio statistics are more useful when you separate raw reach from the devices and contexts people use to access audio. The dataset gives several important clues.
Podcast listening remains a major adjacent behavior
Podcast listening is not the same as internet radio, but it is a strong proxy for how comfortable audiences are with digital audio. In 2024, 47% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last month, and 34% listened in the last week (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
Women are a major part of that audience too. In the same 2024 data, 45% of U.S. women age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last month, and 32% listened in the last week (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024). Those figures matter because they show the listening base is not limited to one demographic profile.
Smart speakers still matter even after the hype faded
Smart speaker ownership reached 34% of U.S. adults age 12+ in 2024, down from 36% in 2023 (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024). That is a small decline, not a collapse, and it still leaves smart speakers as a meaningful household audio endpoint.
More interesting is the device intensity among owners: 43% of smart speaker owners owned three or more smart speakers in 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024). That means ownership is not just a yes/no adoption metric. For some households, smart speakers are distributed across multiple rooms, which can increase casual listening opportunities.
In-car listening is still a core use case
The 2023 data shows that 37% of U.S. adults age 18+ who had ridden in a car in the last month listened to online audio in the car, up from 32% in 2022 (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023). That five-point increase matters because commuting and travel remain some of the most valuable listening windows for radio-like products.
The car continues to be one of the clearest places where internet radio competes directly with broadcast radio, satellite radio, and on-demand streaming. The data says the category is not just at home or on mobile; it is embedded in daily transport routines (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023).
Compact comparison table
| Behavior | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Smart speaker ownership among adults 12+ in 2024 | 34% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| Smart speaker ownership in 2023 | 36% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| Smart speaker owners with 3+ devices in 2024 | 43% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024 |
| Online audio in car among adults 18+ who rode in a car last month, 2023 | 37% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023 |
| Online audio in car among adults 18+ who rode in a car last month, 2022 | 32% | Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023 |
Regional comparisons: Australia and Canada
The U.S. data is the most direct reference point, but the international numbers help show that internet radio and online audio are not isolated to one market.
Australia shows very high radio reach
In Australia, radio reached 81% of the population age 12+ in 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024). The same report says that reach was 27% higher than the U.S. benchmark cited there, and that five times as many Australians listened to radio as to ad-supported Spotify in 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024).
Those numbers point to a radio market that remains extremely strong even while streaming and podcasting grow around it. Streaming radio listening in cars in Australia rose 75% in two years by 2024, and online streaming among Australians age 25-54 had doubled over three years by 2024 (Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024).
Smart speaker usage also looks substantial in Australia. Smart speaker ownership reached 34% in 2024, doubling in four years, and 65% of Australian smart speaker owners age 12+ listened to audio in the last month through the device (Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024).
Australia highlights table
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Radio reach, age 12+ | 81% | Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024 |
| Ad-supported Spotify comparison | 5x fewer listeners than radio | Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024 |
| Smart speaker ownership | 34% | Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024 |
| Smart speaker audio use among owners | 65% | Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024 |
| Radio in-car preference among adults 18+ who rode in a car | 88% | Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024 |
Canada points to a structural shift in audio spending
Canadian data from the CRTC annual highlights also shows how household media spending is changing. Canadian households that were streaming-only rose to 29% in 2024 from 23% in 2023 (CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024). At the same time, Online Undertakings accounted for 36% of total broadcasting revenues in Canada in 2024 (CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).
The spending trend is especially telling:
- Average monthly Canadian household spending on BDU services fell from $36.2 in 2021 to $28.6 in 2024 (CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).
- Average monthly Canadian household spending on Online Undertakings rose from $25.7 in 2021 to $34.7 in 2024 (CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).
- Average monthly household spending on audio Online Undertakings in Canada rose from $6.1 to $8.3 between 2021 and 2024 (CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).
- Average monthly household spending on audiovisual Online Undertakings in Canada rose from $25.1 to $35.2 between 2021 and 2024 (CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).
That is a strong sign that online audio and related digital services are taking a larger share of the household media budget.
Platform and company scale
Internet radio statistics are not only about listeners. They also reveal which companies have enough scale to matter in the market.
SiriusXM and Pandora
SiriusXM said its combined monthly audience was approximately 160 million listeners in early 2025 (SiriusXM Q4 and full-year 2024 release). On the subscription side, Sirius XM had 33.226 million ending subscribers as of December 31, 2024, while Sirius XM Canada had 2.516 million subscribers as of the same date (SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report).
Pandora remains a large part of the SiriusXM ecosystem. It had 43.344 million monthly active users as of December 31, 2024, and 5.774 million self-pay subscribers as of that date (SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report). Pandora ad-supported listener hours were 9.940 billion for full-year 2024, down from 10.480 billion in 2023, while Pandora ad RPM rose to $100.59 in 2024 from $99.39 in 2023 (SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report).
SiriusXM and Pandora comparison table
| Platform metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SiriusXM combined monthly audience, early 2025 | Approximately 160 million | SiriusXM Q4 and full-year 2024 release |
| Sirius XM ending subscribers, Dec. 31, 2024 | 33.226 million | SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report |
| Sirius XM Canada subscribers, Dec. 31, 2024 | 2.516 million | SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report |
| Pandora monthly active users, Dec. 31, 2024 | 43.344 million | SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report |
| Pandora self-pay subscribers, Dec. 31, 2024 | 5.774 million | SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report |
| Pandora ad-supported listener hours, full-year 2024 | 9.940 billion | SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report |
| Pandora ad RPM, 2024 | $100.59 | SiriusXM 2024 Annual Report |
iHeartMedia’s scale is built on both broadcast and digital
The iHeartMedia data reinforces how blended the audio market has become. The company said 90% of Americans listen to its broadcast radio every month, that its broadcast radio assets alone have twice the audience of the next largest broadcast radio company, and that they have more than four times the ad-enabled audience of the largest digital-only audio service (iHeartMedia corporate site).
On the digital side, iHeartMedia said iHeartRadio is available across more than 500 platforms and thousands of devices (iHeartMedia Q4 2024 release). It also reported Digital Audio Group revenue of $238.968 million in Q1 2024, $289.204 million in Q2 2024, and $301 million in Q3 2024, with podcast revenue reaching $327.055 million for full-year 2024 (iHeartMedia Q1 2024 release; iHeartMedia Q2 2024 release; iHeartMedia Q3 2024 release; iHeartMedia Q4 2024 release).
That combination of broadcast reach and digital monetization is a good reminder that internet radio statistics should be read alongside the broader audio economy, not in isolation.
What the numbers imply for listeners and publishers
The dataset does not support a simple winner-take-all story. Instead, it shows a layered market with several strong access points:
- Online audio has already reached mass-market status in the U.S. (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- Podcast listening adds depth and repeat engagement rather than replacing streaming audio (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- Smart speakers and in-car listening remain meaningful contexts for discovery and habitual use (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023; Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- International markets such as Australia and Canada show similar structural shifts, even when the exact mix differs (Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024; CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).
For publishers, the big opportunity is not simply “more audio.” It is more precise understanding of where listeners are, which devices they use, and how often they return. For listeners, the numbers show why internet radio feels so embedded now: it works across phones, smart speakers, cars, and podcast apps, and it reaches audiences that are already large enough to be meaningful on their own.
Key takeaways
- 76% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to online audio in the last month in 2024, equal to an estimated 218 million people (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- 90% of U.S. adults age 12-34 and 85% of adults age 35-54 listened to online audio in the last month, showing broad adoption across age groups (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- 47% of U.S. adults age 12+ listened to a podcast in the last month, so podcasting remains a major part of the digital audio mix (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- Smart speaker ownership held at 34% in 2024, with 43% of owners having three or more devices (Edison Research Infinite Dial 2024).
- International data from Australia and Canada points to the same general direction: strong radio reach, growing streaming behavior, and rising household spend on online audio services (Edison Research Infinite Dial Australia 2024; CRTC Annual highlights 2023-2024).