In today’s article we reflect on comments from industry experts, on the fastest growing channel in the AA/WARC Expenditure Report for Q1 2026 – Radio.
Radio isn’t over yet, since UK advertising expenditure increased by 9.3% from the previous year to £11.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, online radio in particular showing especially strong growth of 22.1%.
The rise is due to increasing consumption of streaming audio and podcasts, to the growth in people using connected devices to listen to music and the fact that advertisers are demanding formats that are targeted, measurable and programmatic.
Why audio advertising is growing
Radio is still achieving a large reach and maintaining a high degree of trust, while smart speakers, connected listening, and the digital services that broadcasters are expanding also provide advertisers with new methods of reaching audiences when there are no screens or when screens are competing for attention.
“Online radio is benefiting from being a powerful hybrid of ‘new and old’,” said JAA Media’s director of planning Alex Hurley, “combining the trust, scale and familiar environments of established radio brands with the targeting, flexibility and measurability advertisers now expect from digital media.”
“That makes it incredibly versatile. For smaller advertisers, it offers low entry costs, high addressability and access to audiences within trusted media environments. For larger brands, it provides a relatively cost-efficient way to build frequency behind distinctive sonic assets, in a channel whose ability to deliver broad reach has remained comparatively resilient.”
Audio’s expanding role in the media mix
Its natural fit with podcasting strengthens the proposition further, he noted that audio now offers an increasingly diverse landscape, spanning “deep editorial engagement within niche contexts” and communities through to the scale of national radio brands, delivered across apps, smart speakers, connected cars and traditional broadcast.
“That matters in a market where linear TV audiences are fragmenting and major digital platforms are becoming more crowded, expensive and unpredictable,” Alex continued. “Audio can add incremental reach in moments when screens are absent or competing for attention, while still offering much of the precision and accountability advertisers increasingly demand.
“So this growth is not simply about listening moving online. It reflects a broader shift towards media that can combine trust, scale, context and addressability. The current rate of growth will inevitably slow as the base gets larger, but I do not think we have yet reached the high-water mark for investment.”
JAA Media’s commercial director Sue Fernando-Solini expanded: “From a delivery and reporting perspective, the individual platforms are still inconsistent and led by the level of spend, unless you utilise services which provide uniformity to the reporting, increasing the cost to deliver the campaign. When the reporting is aligned I can see this being an area that will encourage further investment.”
This expanding audio landscape is an opportunity for advertisers to combine reach, context and addressability in a single strategy. With the evolution of measurement and reporting, online radio’s combination of trusted environments, flexible targeting and screen-free engagement should make it an increasingly valuable part of the media mix.
