AM radio still exists because it does something no other broadcast technology can match: send a signal hundreds of miles from a single tower, reaching rural areas, mountain valleys, and open highways where FM stations and cell towers don’t reach. That physics advantage, combined with its role as an emergency communication backbone, keeps AM relevant even as audio has gone digital. There are currently 4,413 licensed AM stations operating in the United States.
The Physics That Give AM an Edge
AM radio operates on relatively long wavelengths, and those wavelengths interact with the Earth’s surface and atmosphere in ways that shorter FM wavelengths cannot. During the day, AM signals travel by “groundwave” propagation, essentially conducting along the surface of the Earth. This lets them bend around hills, follow terrain, and cover large areas from a single transmitter. FM signals, by contrast, travel in straight lines. They’re blocked by mountains, tall buildings, and the curvature of the Earth itself, which limits most FM stations to a radius of roughly 30 to 60 miles.
At night, AM becomes even more remarkable. The ionosphere, a layer of electrically charged particles high in the atmosphere, reflects AM signals back down to Earth. This “skywave” propagation can bounce a single station’s signal hundreds of miles. It’s why you can pick up a distant AM station late at night that you’d never hear during the day. The FCC actually requires many AM stations to reduce power or stop broadcasting after sunset specifically to prevent signals from interfering with each other across state lines.
Emergency Broadcasting Depends on It
AM radio’s massive coverage footprint makes it uniquely valuable during disasters. When hurricanes knock out cell towers, when wildfires destroy internet infrastructure, when ice storms take down power lines feeding FM repeater networks, AM stations can still reach millions of people from a single transmitter running on backup generators. The entire Emergency Alert System relies heavily on AM stations as primary entry points for getting warnings to the public.
This isn’t theoretical. After major hurricanes and earthquakes, AM radio has repeatedly been the last broadcast medium standing. That track record is a major reason Congress has pushed to protect it. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, reintroduced in the Senate in 2025 as S.315, would require automakers to keep AM receivers in new cars. The bill exists because several manufacturers, particularly electric vehicle makers, have started removing AM tuners from their dashboards.
Why Automakers Want to Drop It
Electric vehicle motors and their power electronics generate electromagnetic interference that falls squarely in the AM frequency range. The buzzing and static this creates makes AM reception in EVs noticeably worse than in gas-powered cars. Rather than invest in expensive shielding to solve the problem, some manufacturers have simply removed the AM tuner entirely. BMW, Tesla, and several other brands have dropped AM from at least some models.
This sparked a backlash from emergency management agencies, rural advocacy groups, and broadcasters who argue that removing AM from vehicles eliminates the one medium guaranteed to work when everything else fails. The legislative push to mandate AM tuners reflects how seriously policymakers take that concern.
What People Actually Listen To on AM
AM radio carved out a content niche that keeps it viable: talk, news, and sports. Music migrated to FM decades ago because FM offers far better audio quality, with stereo sound and less static. But for spoken-word programming, AM’s lower fidelity barely matters. News/talk is one of the largest radio formats in the country, capturing roughly 11% of all radio listening among adults 18 and older, and an even larger share of streaming radio listening at nearly 22%. Sports radio similarly thrives on AM, where play-by-play coverage and talk shows draw dedicated audiences.
Spanish-language programming is another significant presence on the AM dial. Many AM stations serve Hispanic communities with news, music, and cultural programming that isn’t available on local FM stations or through mainstream streaming platforms. For these listeners, AM isn’t a relic. It’s a primary source of information in their language.
Rural Communities Have Few Alternatives
In large stretches of the western United States, parts of the Great Plains, and Appalachian regions, FM coverage is spotty and broadband internet is unreliable or nonexistent. AM’s groundwave propagation fills in those gaps. A single 50,000-watt AM station can blanket an area that would require dozens of FM transmitters or cell towers to cover, at a fraction of the infrastructure cost.
For farmers, truckers, and residents of small towns far from any city, AM radio provides weather reports, agricultural market prices, local news, and emergency information that simply isn’t available through other free, over-the-air media. No subscription is needed, no internet connection, no cell signal. A basic receiver powered by batteries works anywhere within range.
Radio Still Commands Significant Listening Time
Despite the rise of podcasts and streaming, traditional radio holds a surprisingly large share of audio consumption. Among adults 18 to 34, radio accounts for 48% of all daily ad-supported audio time, a number that actually increased in early 2024. Among older listeners, radio captures nearly three-quarters of their audio listening time. These numbers include both AM and FM, but they demonstrate that broadcast radio as a medium is far from dead, and the AM band continues to carry formats that attract loyal, habitual audiences.
Low Cost Keeps Stations Running
Operating an AM station is relatively affordable compared to launching an FM station or building a digital streaming operation. AM transmitters are simpler in design, and while aging analog equipment can become expensive to maintain as parts grow scarce, the basic infrastructure costs less to build and run. For small community stations, religious broadcasters, and niche-format operators, AM provides a way to reach a large geographic area without the capital investment that FM or digital platforms demand.
That said, the economics aren’t easy. AM stations generally earn less advertising revenue than FM stations because of smaller audiences and older listener demographics. Many AM stations operate on thin margins. But the low barrier to entry keeps the band populated, particularly by local and regional voices that might not survive in a more expensive medium.
The Real Reason AM Persists
AM radio exists at the intersection of physics, economics, and public safety in a way that no newer technology has fully replaced. Streaming audio requires internet access. FM requires line-of-sight proximity to a tower. Cell networks require dense infrastructure. AM requires one transmitter and one cheap receiver, and it works across hundreds of miles, through bad weather, in places no other signal reaches. Until something else can do all of that for free, with no subscription and no network dependency, AM radio will keep broadcasting.