As broadcasters and lawmakers in Washington await word from nine automakers on their plans for AM radio in their vehicles, Nielsen is out with a list of the 141 markets where AM radio is listened to monthly by at least 20% of the radio audience. To be clear, the list, based on the Fall 2022 survey, shows the percentage of radio listeners that tune to AM radio in a month, not the percentage of all radio listening that goes to AM.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls leads the list – 56% of the radio audience in Nielsen Audio metro No. 59 listens to AM radio in a month. Buffalo is home to a pair of heritage AM stations that consistently are among the market’s top 10 most listened to outlets: Audacy news/talk WBEN (930) and sports sister WGR (550). Neither station has an FM simulcast.