As more Americans are getting vaccinated and getting on with their new normal, whether it’s back to the office, running around or just getting out and about, radio listenership is up. With its third straight month of increase for age 12+ radio’s reach is at its highest level since March 2020 in PPM (Portable People Meter) markets.

This increase comes from both time spent listening (TSL) and weekly reach. Radio added approximately 5 million new weekly listeners since January 2021 and an average of 20+ more minutes in TSL. These listening gains are spread across all major dayparts. Morning drive (6 a.m.-10 a.m.) and weekends saw their highest audience increases since last year.

While these numbers are far from pre-pandemic levels, they are increasing each month. This shows that as consumers are getting back to normal, they feel safer and are ready to go back to their normal activities. Nielsen labeled these consumers as “ready-to-go.”

This ready-to-go group is out and about in their vehicles, listening to the radio on their way to work, grocery shopping, taking their kids to activities or driving longer distances to go on vacations.

As we see more of this, radio listenership will continue to increase.

Growing listenership translates into growing impressions making radio an efficient and high-reach media buying strategy this summer.

While this is great news for radio and advertisers going back on air, media buyers need to place schedules quickly in order to secure inventory, which is quickly selling out.