More ears, more dollars: radio makes its case for a bigger slice of the revenue pie

There have never been more people listening to radio. New data from Commercial Radio & Audio shows traditional broadcast radio hit record levels in the past year, with 12.3 million metro listeners and 4.6 million regional listeners.

Streaming and podcasting are also surging, with more than 11 million Australians tuning in to podcasts each month.

Yet despite this record engagement, strong audience growth, and deep connection to regional communities, the industry continues to punch below its weight, with ad revenue up just 1% in the past year.

That was the key message at this year’s HEARD conference, where industry leaders made the case for audio to claim a bigger share of the ad market.

"There have never been more people listening,” said CRA chief executive Lizzie Young. “But relative to our audience, we underperform in both reach and influence.”

Young said audio is uniquely engaging and versatile for brands, delivering attention and connection like no other medium.

"There are five times more people listening to Australian commercial radio than free music streaming, such as ad-supported Spotify. Five times. Yet we underperform in the addressable audio ad market from a revenue perspective. That is an enormous opportunity for us all."

While total national broadcast revenues across metro and regional markets remained flat, digital segments - including streaming and podcasting - surged 30%.

"Broadcast is resilient because it works. Digital continues to accelerate, proving that audio is a sound investment strategy."

CRA Audio ID

To help close the revenue gap and streamline digital ad buying, Young unveiled CRA Audio ID, a new unified identification product designed to optimise ad campaigns across major Australian broadcasters.

Developed in partnership with market research group GfK, the system will integrate with CRA’s audience measurement platform Radio 360, and aims to make digital ad buying smarter, faster and more efficient across the entire industry.

"This is an important milestone in our digital transformation and provides the foundation for us to leverage new technology capabilities," Young said.

Launching in June, CRA Audio ID will initially cover metro and regional streaming audio inventory from ARN, Nine Radio, Nova, and Southern Cross Austereo.

Future updates will expand regional coverage, incorporate podcast inventory, and introduce data-matching capabilities—positioning the platform as a key driver of digital audio growth in Australia.