The radio industry’s comeback isn’t being discussed enough. While analysts kept predicting terminal decline, radio revenue growth hit an unexpected inflection point in 2025-partly because digital ad sales now represent 30% of total industry revenue, a 150% increase since 2020. I’ve watched this shift unfold behind the scenes, and the pattern is clear: stations that treat digital as a separate, high-margin ecosystem don’t just survive-they outpace streaming giants. The proof? Take KLON in Los Angeles, where digital ad revenue now accounts for 42% of their budget, after they stopped treating podcasts as a side project and started treating them like micro-stations with their own inventory. Their Q4 2025 revenue grew 23% compared to 2024’s projections. That’s not a fluke-it’s the new standard.
radio revenue growth: How digital turned radio’s stagnation
Analysts at the Radio Advertising Bureau found that stations using programmatic audio ads and dynamic insertion grew their digital revenue by 18-22% in 2025-outperforming the broader market by nearly 50%. The catch? Most stations still see digital as a checkbox. They slap a banner on their website, call it “digital transformation,” and wonder why engagement remains flat. KLON didn’t just add a podcast-they built a cross-platform strategy. They bundled local podcast sponsorships with digital audio ads on platforms like YouTube and Facebook, then used first-party listener data to sell ads based on real behavior, not just demographics. Their local car dealership clients loved it: a 35% higher conversion rate than traditional radio spots. The lesson? Radio revenue growth isn’t about replacing analog-it’s about amplifying it with digital’s precision.
Three moves that doubled ad revenue
Stations that mastered digital ad sales didn’t just copy streaming playbooks. They used three core strategies that traditional radio ignored:
- Hyper-local targeting: Stations like WZZM in Chicago now use ZIP-code data to sell ads to gyms, salons, and auto dealers within a mile radius. Their hyper-local campaigns grew 40% in 18 months-proving niche audiences spend more when ads feel personal.
- Dynamic ad insertion: When iHeartMedia’s national sponsors pulled back in 2025, stations using real-time ad swapping kept their revenue flat. KLON’s dynamic system replaced 12% of lost national spots with targeted digital ads, cutting revenue losses by 18%.
- Repurposing old data: Many stations sit on decades of listener CRM data-but they treat it like dusty archives. KLON’s team cleaned and segmented their old data, then sold interest-based ads (e.g., “Parenting tips for families in Santa Monica”). Revenue from these ads tripled in six months.
The common thread? Leadership treated digital as a revenue engine, not a cost center. At KLON, their VP of Revenue Operations moved from a traditional sales role to oversee both digital and analog ad teams, merging the two into a single strategy. The result? Digital ad revenue grew 5x faster than the national average in 2025.
Why radio’s reliability still beats streaming
While podcasts and Spotify playlists vie for attention, radio’s one undeniable advantage is listener loyalty. iHeartMedia’s 2025 Q3 report showed that stations combining digital ads with traditional spots saw a 28% lift in campaign effectiveness-because radio ads can’t be skipped. Yet, many stations still see digital as a “modern” add-on rather than a strategic multiplier. Take a station in Portland, Oregon: they had the data, the audience, and even the tech-but their C-suite treated digital as a “project” rather than a core revenue stream. Their digital ad growth stalled at 3% annually, while competitors like KLON grew 12-14%. The difference? Leadership that tied digital metrics to the bottom line.
From my perspective, the future isn’t about choosing between analog and digital-it’s about stacking their strengths. Radio revenue growth in 2026 won’t come from more podcasts. It’ll come from stations that treat digital ads like high-margin inventory, just as they do with traditional spots. The top 20% of digital-savvy stations proved that in 2025: they grew 12-14% annually, double the industry average. The question isn’t *if* radio can adapt-it’s how fast the rest of the industry catches up.
