Commercial radio continues to dominate Australia’s audio landscape: Infinite Dial study

78% of Australians listen to radio and 62% listen to commercial radio in any week, according to results from Edison Research‘s Australian Infinfite Dial study.

The results, just released by Commercial Radio and Audio, show that most Australians (94%) listen to audio, in a mix that includes radio, podcasts and streaming music, across multiple audio consumption platforms.

Commercial radio continues to dominate Australia’s audio landscape, reaching 15 million people weekly, four times more than ad-supported Spotify.

The ninth annual report was presented for CRA at a webinar led by Edison Research President Larry Rosin, alongside panellists Margie Reid the CEO of agency Thinkerbell and Lauren Joyce, Chief Audience and Content Officer at ARN.

“With one in three Australians aged 25–54 now streaming radio weekly, up 6.5% since last year, and half of Australians consuming podcasts monthly, the message is loud and clear: audio delivers scale, impact and connection and gives audiences what they want, when they want, however they want it,” said CRA CEO Lizzie Young.

Half of Australians (52%) are choosing to consume audio or video podcasts monthly. “Podcasts can give advertisers the opportunity to add targeting. There has always been targeting through different radio formats, but now podcasting can allow advertisers to drill into very specific audiences. Put them together and you achieve tremendous reach,” said Rosen.

Total radio remains the top choice for in-car audio, with 84% of Australians 18+ who travelled in a car in the past month tuning in while on the road. Radio’s digital evolution is now well established, with more than one in four Australians streaming radio in their cars, demonstrating how audiences are embracing new ways to access their favourite content.

The report also reveals that smart speaker ownership is a fixture for four in ten Australian households, maintaining its role as popular touchpoint for audience connection. “Owning a smart speaker is important people with smart speakers listen to more audio,” said Rosen.

According to Edison President Larry Rosin, “The Infinite Dial 2025 Australia report highlights radio’s strong appeal across all age groups even as so many other options proliferate. Commercial radio delivers the most reach among all audio options for Australian advertisers.”

“For advertisers, audio connects brands across the entire customer journey whether it’s trusted scale for brand awareness, precision targeting, or influencing highly engaged audiences – audio’s versatility makes it the most effective and essential medium in any media strategy,” added Lizzie Young.

The Infinite Dial Australia 2025 explores Australians’ audio consumption across AM/FM, DAB+, and online platforms, alongside broader trends in online media usage and technology adoption. Now in its ninth year, the study is modelled on Edison Research’s U.S. Infinite Dial (est. 1998), the longest-running study of digital media behaviour globally. It enables direct comparisons across Australia, New Zealand, UK and the U.S. Key findings

• Commercial Radio reaches 15 million Australians weekly.
• 4x more Australians listen to Commercial Radio than ad-supported Spotify. ​
• One in three Australians aged 25-54 stream radio each week, up 6.5% from 2024. ​
• More than half (52%) of Australians consume podcasts monthly, up 8% year-on-year. ​
• Radio remains the dominant in-car audio choice, with 84% listening each month.  ​
• More than one-in-four Australians now stream radio in their car​
• Four-in-ten Australians now own at least one smart speaker, up 43% in the past two years.

The full presentation is available for download here.

Methodology: A national survey of 1,543 Australians aged 10+, conducted in Q1 2025 (fieldwork 25 March – 21 April 2025). – 1,240 interviews online | 303 interviews via telephone. Data weighted to national 10+ population figures.