1. TV ratings continue to drop, while radio’s listening levels are remarkably stable.

The latest TV ratings show a continuing downward trend. This chart from Wall Street analyst MoffettNathanson shows an -8% year over year drop in broadcast and cable ratings in the second quarter of 2015:

This continues the trend we’ve previously noted: TV ratings continue to slump, while radio ratings remain stable. (Read more here: “This Just In: New Data on TV Viewing Levels and Demographics“)

2 . Radio listeners are younger and more employed than TV viewers.

TV viewers tend to be older and more unemployed than radio listeners.

Read more here: “Nielsen: Radio Listeners are Younger, More Employed, and More Social than TV Viewers”

Average Age & Employment of Heavy Radio, Internet & TV Users

Source: Nielsen Scarborough. USA+ Release 2 2014, Adults 18+, Heavy Media Users
3. Over half of total audio listening comes from AM/FM radio. Edison Research JUST released its Q2 2015 data for the “Share of Ear,” and AM/FM radio continues to dominate time spent with audio. Shares of streaming audio are small.

Over half (52%) of time spent with audio goes to AM/FM radio – eight times Pandora. The same amount of time is spent with music videos on YouTube (6%) as with Pandora (6%). Spotify has a tiny 3% share of time spent listening.

Read more about Edison’s quarterly study here: “Did You See What Netflix & Pandora Did Last Night? How Streaming Stacks Up to Radio & TV.”

4. Sports radio accumulates reach over time.

As seen recently in Advertising Age, we recently conducted a first-of-its-kind study to understand the season-long reach of Westwood One’s NFL broadcast. While the NFL reaches 6 million listeners in the first weeks of the season — unique reach soars to more than 21 million over the course of the season (a 3.5x increase).

These findings clearly demonstrate the long-term reach and value of play-by-play sports on the radio.

Read more about the NFL study here: “NFL on Westwood One Reaches 1 in 5 Men 18-49 in America”

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Marketing Officer of Cumulus Media | Westwood One.