Radio Isn’t Dead, Half Of In-Car Audio Time Is Still AM/FM Radio

Radio Isn’t Dead, Half Of In-Car Audio Time Is Still AM/FM Radio
这是不死的收音机：车内音频时间的一半仍然属于AM/FM广播

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Radio Isn’t Dead, Half Of In-Car Audio Time Is Still AM/FM Radio
广播并未死去，车内音频时间的一半仍然属于AM/FM广播

A modern infotainment system tuned to an FM radio station
调频广播电台调谐的现代信息娱乐系统

Ra3rn/Getty Images
Ra3rn/Getty Images

In a world of Spotify, Tidal, and countless other audio streaming services, who listens to terrestrial radio in their car anymore? It’s basically nobody, right? Well, there are more radio listeners than you may think, according to a recent study by Edison Research. Its Q1 2026 Share of Ear data reveals that 55% of Americans’ in-car audio time goes to AM/FM radio, with all listeners age 13 and older. Streaming only accounts for 16% of our drive-time listening. That’s quite a different story than the doom and gloom we’ve been led to believe that streaming would kill the radio star.
在Spotify、Tidal以及无数其他音频流媒体服务充斥的世界里，谁还会在车里收听地面无线电广播？基本上没有人，对吧？然而，根据埃迪森研究公司（Edison Research）的一项最新研究，实际的收听人数比你想象的要多。其2026年第一季度的“耳朵份额”数据显示，55%的美国人在车内的音频时间用于AM/FM广播，听众年龄均≥13岁。仅有16%的驱车听书时间来自流媒体。这与我们被灌输的“流媒体将扼杀广播星”的末日论截然不同。

When Edison drills a bit deeper into the numbers, specifying an age range of 13 to 34, streaming increases. AM/FM radio still earns 46% of listening time, but streaming goes up to 30%, nearly double the overall figure. It may be that older people tend to stick with what they know, which is AM/FM broadcasts, and not this new-fangled streaming thing. Likewise, younger people grew up with digital and streaming options, as well as the ability to choose what they listen to by methods other than a radio station’s request line.
当埃迪森把数字再往深处挖一些，指定年龄范围为13至34岁时，流媒体的占比有所上升。AM/FM广播仍占总听音时间的46%，但流媒体升至30%，几乎是总体数字的两倍。可能是年长者更倾向于坚持熟悉的AM/FM广播，而不是这类新潮的流媒体。相反，年轻人则在数字与流媒体环境中成长，也具备通过除电台传呼台线以外的方法来选择听什么的能力。

However, the numbers turn around a bit when looking at spoken-word audio. Podcasts take a small lead here, taking up 40% of American’s listening time, compared to 39% for AM/FM radio — no age distinction was made here, simply all Americans over the age of 13.
然而，当看“口语类音频”时，数字又出现了转折。播客在这里略占上风，占美国人听音时间的40%，而AM/FM广播为39%——这里并未按年龄区分，只要是13岁以上的美国人。

In 2015, spoken word audio on the radio held a dominant 75% lead, which was to be expected with all of its talk shows and baseball games. But since then, podcasts have skyrocketed in popularity, perhaps because they are not only available on demand, but because there’s a podcast these days for any topic you can imagine. Even within the relatively niche automotive world, you have everything from old standards like The Smoking Tire to recent upstarts like Trans Girlismo, and everything in between.
2015年，广播中的口语音频占有主导地位，领先75%，这在当时的脱口秀节目和棒球比赛中是可以预期的。但从那时起，播客的普及率激增，或许是因为播客不仅可按需获取，现在还涵盖你能想象到的任何话题。在相对小众的汽车领域，也有像“The Smoking Tire”这样的老牌节目，以及像“Trans Girlismo”这样的新锐节目，以及中间的各种节目。

AM radio lives
AM无线电仍然存在

An old car dashboard with the driver tuning a radio
一个老旧汽车仪表盘，驾驶员正在调谐收音机

Despite radio’s continuing popularity, Tesla, Rivian, and even Ford have been eliminating at least AM radios from new models. This move has been particularly prevalent among EVs, whose electric motors generate interference with AM radio reception. Eliminating this interference would cost manufacturers billions – they don’t want to spend that money if they don’t have to.
尽管广播仍然很受欢迎，特斯拉、Rivian，甚至福特在新车型中至少移除了AM无线电。这一举动在电动汽车领域尤为突出，因为电动马达会干扰AM广播接收。消除这种干扰将花费制造商数十亿美元——如果没有必要，他们当然不想花这笔钱。

However, they may have to. Customers and politicians have been pushing back hard against dropping radio from modern cars. Ford even reversed course after massive backlash to eliminating AM radio. The government has even gone as far as introducing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would require every new passenger car to be equipped with an AM radio. (FM does not suffer from the same kind of electrical interference that AM does, so it’s less likely to be on manufacturers’ chopping blocks.)
然而，他们可能不得不这么做。消费者和政界人士强烈反对在现代汽车中删除广播。福特在遭遇大规模强烈反对后甚至改变了路线，继续保留AM广播。政府甚至提出了“每辆汽车都应配备AM广播法案”，要求所有新车必须配备AM广播。（FM不会遭受与AM相同的电干扰，因此不太可能成为制造商削减的对象。）

This isn’t because the high average legislator age is AM radio’s target demographic, but because AM radio remains a vital component of the Emergency Alert System, even today. While some of us think of the EAS as nothing more than those amber alerts and false alarms on our phones, AM radio keeps working when power and cell towers go down. According to the National Association of Broadcasters:
这并不是因为高龄议员是AM广播的目标受众，而是因为AM广播仍然是应急警报系统的重要组成部分，即使在今天也如此。尽管我们中的一些人将EAS视为手机上的橙色警报和虚假警报，但当停电和手机信号塔瘫痪时，AM广播仍在工作。根据全国广播商协会的说法：

77 radio stations play a crucial role serving as Primary Entry Points (PEPs) across the country, a vast majority of which are AM stations. These are designated radio stations whose signals cover 90% of the American population and have a direct connection to FEMA and the National Weather Service (NWS). In times of crisis, these stations receive emergency information and alerts directly from the federal government, ensuring a reliable and authoritative source of information for the public.
77家广播电台在全国范围内作为主要入口点（PEP）发挥关键作用，其中绝大多数为AM电台。这些指定电台的信号覆盖美国90%的人口，并与联邦紧急事务管理局（FEMA）和国家气象局（NWS）直接连接。在危机时期，这些电台直接接收并传递来自联邦政府的紧急信息与警报，确保公众获得可靠权威的信息来源。

Many rural areas still don’t have reliable cell service, including where I live. When local Wi-Fi cuts out during a power outage, that leaves no connection to the outside world besides radio. AM, in particular, has a wide coverage area unaffected by cell service. Home radio ownership is dropping rapidly, leaving the car as the only available radio in many cases. Every car should have one.
许多农村地区仍然没有可靠的蜂窝网络覆盖，包括我所在的地方。当停电时，本地的Wi-Fi可能中断，这时除广播之外就没有与外界的连接。AM广播具有较广的覆盖范围，不受蜂窝网络影响。家庭收音机的拥有率正在迅速下降，很多情况下汽车成为唯一可用的广播设备。每辆车都应该有一台。

April 14, 2026 at 05:31AM
2026年4月14日，凌晨05:31

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via Jalopnik – Obsessed with the culture of cars
来自 Jalopnik – 痴迷于汽车文化

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April 14, 2026 at 05:31AM
2026年4月14日，05:31AM

April 14, 2026 at 05:31AM