Video killed the radio star – or did it really?
Article 10 of 10 in series: The Great Reach Reset
In 1979, the song Video Killed the Radio Star was released. The song became a symbol of a new media era. Ironically, it was the very first music video aired on MTV, the embodiment of the medium that was supposedly going to “kill” radio. At the time, television was not under threat. Quite the opposite. TV was dominant, unifying, and culturally powerful. It was the radio that was expected to fade away.
But the radio did not die. It evolved. It moved into the car, into the Walkman, into headphones, onto streaming platforms and into podcasts. It became more personal, more mobile, more on demand, while remaining a central part of everyday life. Today, 47 years later, radio is not the medium being declared obsolete. Linear TV sometimes is.
The narrative of television’s decline has become almost conventional wisdom. Streaming and CTV are growing. Younger audiences watch less scheduled programming. Budgets are shifting. And in the middle of that transition, it has become tempting to conclude that linear TV belongs to the past. Perhaps we are repeating the same mistake that was made with radio.
Audio was not killed – it grew
If you look at the development of audio, it is difficult to argue that there is a decline. According to The Infinite Dial 2025 from Edison Research, 79% of Americans aged 12 and above listen to online audio every month, and 55% are monthly podcast listeners. Both figures are at record levels. At the same time, research by Grand View Research estimates that the global podcast industry was worth around 39.6 billion dollars in 2025 and is expected to grow significantly by 2030.
The important point is not just podcast growth, but the broader pattern. Audio, as a category, has adapted to new technologies and consumption habits without losing relevance. Radio still exists. Streaming has expanded the landscape. Podcasts have introduced new formats and behaviours. This is not a story of replacement, but of expansion. That perspective matters when discussing television.
Is linear TV really disappearing?
There is no doubt that media consumption is fragmenting and that CTV and streaming are playing an increasingly important role. Viewers expect flexibility, on-demand access, and fewer interruptions. This changes planning, buying, and creative execution.
At the same time, linear TV continues to deliver something that is difficult to replicate fully: fast, broad, simultaneous reach across large populations. When the objective is to build mental availability across an entire category, as Byron Sharp and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute have consistently documented, broad reach has not become less important. If anything, it has become more important in a fragmented environment.
This does not mean that linear TV should stand alone. Nor does it mean that CTV is merely a supplement. It means that we need to think in terms of interaction rather than substitution.
The dual life of sports: Linear and online
One area that clearly illustrates this interaction is sports. Major sporting events remain among the most watched programs on linear TV. Finals, national team matches, and global tournaments bring millions of people together at the same time, creating shared cultural moments that few other formats can replicate. For advertisers, this represents a unique opportunity for rapid, large-scale reach and strong attention.
At the same time, sports have developed a significant online presence. Rights are moving to streaming platforms, niche leagues are finding audiences digitally, and younger viewers follow matches, highlights, and analysis through CTV, social platforms, and dedicated apps. Live sports are streamed across devices, and second-screen behaviour has become the norm rather than the exception.
The point is not that streaming is taking sports away from linear TV, or that linear TV is resisting digital change. The point is that sports now exist in both worlds. The linear broadcast delivers scale and shared moments, while digital platforms expand the ecosystem, extend engagement, and reach new segments. If we measure only one side, we underestimate the whole.
Omnichannel is not about choosing sides
Today, consumers move seamlessly between linear TV, CTV, social media, audio, retail media, and other digital platforms. They do not distinguish between old and new. They distinguish between relevant and irrelevant.
Omnichannel is therefore not about being present everywhere at any cost. It is about understanding how channels work together, which situations they cover, which audiences they reach, and most importantly, where they contribute incremental reach.
If linear TV reaches a large share of the population and CTV reaches another, partially overlapping share, the interesting question is not the sum of gross numbers. It is the portion of the audience reached exclusively by one channel or the other.
Audio often proves its strength here because it reaches people in moments when screens are not dominant. Similarly, linear TV can gather broad audiences quickly, while CTV contributes flexibility, targeting, and data integration.
These channels do not cancel each other out. They complement each other.
Without cross-media measurement, we are guessing
The challenge arises when each platform measures its own performance in isolation. Within each silo, the numbers look strong. But without deduplicated cross-media measurement, we do not know how many unique individuals we have truly reached, how often they were exposed, and which channels genuinely delivered incremental reach.
In a world where budgets move quickly and narratives about dying media spread even faster, it is risky to navigate without a holistic view. Not because linear TV necessarily needs defending, but because strategic decisions should be based on evidence rather than headlines.
History shows it is rarely either or
In 1979, the idea that video had killed radio was a compelling story. It was also too simple. Radio survived and evolved. Audio expanded into new formats and new contexts.
Today, linear TV is often given the same verdict. It may change shape. It may represent a smaller share of total viewing. But like radio, it may also find its role within a broader ecosystem where linear TV, CTV, audio, and digital platforms together create the reach and effectiveness that drive growth.
The future will not belong to a single channel. It will belong to those who understand how they work together and who properly measure that interaction.
This article is 10 of 10 in our series: The Great Reach Reset
About this article series
In a fragmented media landscape, reach is no longer a simple KPI - it is a strategic growth lever. In this article series, AudienceProject explores why advertisers are not failing at reach, but at measuring it properly, and why incremental, deduplicated cross-media reach has become essential to driving penetration, controlling frequency, and unlocking sustainable growth.
Signup for the AudienceProject newsletter
Industry relevant articles, truth-revealing studies, exiting new product launches and random thoughts from brilliant people - directly in your inbox. Free of charge and no spam guaranteed!