listenership

noun lis·ten·er·ship \ ˈlis-nər-ˌship , ˈli-sᵊn-ər- \

Updated on: 10 Mar 2018

Definition of listenership

: the audience for a radio program or recording; also : the number or kind of that audience

Recent Examples of listenership from the Web

As noted above, R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay ranks songs based on audience impressions or the size of listenership for the week.

— trevor anderson, Billboard, "Drake's 'God's Plan' Ties Record for Fastest Trip to Top 10 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Chart," 7 Feb. 2018
The onetime unifier Taylor Swift seems set on dividing her potential listenership into camps of friends and rivals with her barbed new material.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Kelly Clarkson's Retro, Uplifting Dream of Unity," 27 Oct. 2017
Revenue is up, listenership is climbing and new players are getting into the game as the industry spots another chance to broaden its scope.

— steve knopper, Billboard, "Labels Press Record on New Way to Grow Streaming Revenue: Make a Podcast," 20 Oct. 2017
Rather than being cannibalized by podcasts, terrestrial listenership is on the rise.

— jane borden, Vanities, "At a Women-Only Podcasting Festival, One of Radio’s Most Established Voices Sets Its Sights on the Future," 10 Oct. 2017
Rather than being cannibalized by podcasts, terrestrial listenership is on the rise.

— jane borden, vanityfair.com, "At a Women-Only Podcasting Festival, One of Radio’s Most Established Voices Sets Its Sights on the Future," 10 Oct. 2017
In 2016, Current, which covers public media, reported that television viewership was up 5 percent, and radio listenership grew 7 percent after a two-year decline.

— donna larcen, courant.com, "WNPR News Director John Dankosky Widens The Net With 'NEXT'," 9 June 2017
According to the website, KAAM already has a broad online listenership and has been credited with being the most listened-to nostalgia format in the country.

— robert philpot, star-telegram.com, "The story is about to end at ‘Legends 77,’ one of the last places for pop music on DFW’s AM dial," 20 May 2017
The show was downloaded 10 million times in the first four days of its release, thanks in part to the network's built-in listenership that was directed to download the show on episodes of This American Life.

— carly mallenbaum, USA TODAY, "'Serial' team reinvents podcasting again with 'S-Town'," 25 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'listenership.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.