Radio’s weekly reach rose for a third consecutive month in Nielsen’s April PPM survey, hitting its highest level since March 2020 when COVID-19’s impact began to upend normal media consumption patterns. New data released today (May 20) shows radio has added more than 5 million new weekly listeners aged 12+ since the beginning of 2021 in the 45 non-embedded PPM markets.

“As America continues to reopen, consumers are returning to radio in numbers not seen in over half a year,” the measurement giant says in a new report.

Nielsen has been updating the industry on listening levels in PPM markets since the pandemic began in March 2020. The new numbers reflect the new April survey data being released this week.

With consumers spending more time working outside the home and in their vehicles, radio’s 12+ cume in PPM markets climbed to 121.1 million in April, up from 119.6 million in March, 115.9 million in February and 115.8 million in January. The numbers have ebbed and flowed over the past 15 ratings surveys, from the pre-COVID total of 124.2 million in March 2020, in parallel with various phases of the pandemic, such as lockdowns, reopenings, infection surges, and now vaccines.