* Ratings surveys: The most common way to measure radio listenership is through ratings surveys. These surveys are conducted by independent research companies, and they involve interviewing a sample of people from the target audience to ask them about their listening habits. Ratings surveys are typically conducted several times a year, and they provide radio stations with information about their average audience size, their reach (the percentage of the population that listens to the station at least once a week), and their share of the listening audience (the percentage of the total listening audience that listens to the station).
* Streaming data: Many radio stations also use streaming data to monitor their listenership. Streaming data provides information about the number of people who are listening to the station online, and it can also be used to track the geographic distribution of the audience.
* Social media: Radio stations can also use social media to monitor their listenership. By tracking the number of likes, followers, and interactions on their social media pages, radio stations can get a sense of how popular they are with their target audience.
By using a combination of these methods, radio stations can get a good understanding of their audience size and demographics. This information can be used to make decisions about programming, marketing, and sales.