Radio is the one medium that is always there. On Route 5 & 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua. In the barn during morning milking. At the shop counter in Auburn. Making dinner while the kids do homework. It is not something people scroll past or skip after five seconds — it is woven into how people live here, and it has been for generations.
Why Radio
The most undervalued advertising medium in America. And it reaches more people than anything else.
Reach
The Medium That Reaches Everyone
93%
of American adults listen to radio every month
241.9 million people — more than any other platform
More than smartphones. More than television. More than streaming, social media, or anything else. Radio reaches 93% of American adults every single month. Among the 35-49 age group — the prime spending years — that number is 95%.
In the Finger Lakes, 83–89% of workers drive alone to work. Geneva to Canandaigua. Auburn to Syracuse. Penn Yan to Corning. These are not short commutes — and there is no subway, no Uber, no scrolling through a phone. Just the road and the radio. That is 265,000+ solo commuters every workday with nothing between them and your message.
ROI
The ROI Nobody Talks About
Here is the biggest disconnect in advertising today. Ask marketers which channels are most effective, and radio comes in dead last. But measure the actual return on investment — dollars back for every dollar spent — and radio ranks second. Only social media does better.
Radio
$2.00
ROI per $1 invested
Ranked #2 in actual ROI
Social Media
$2.22
ROI per $1 invested
Ranked #1
Online Video
$1.56
ROI per $1 invested
Ranked #3
Television
$1.47
ROI per $1 invested
Ranked #6
Radio is the most undervalued medium in advertising. Marketers consistently underestimate it, which means fewer businesses compete for airtime. Every dollar your competitors are not spending on radio is an opportunity for you. Less competition for attention. More impact per dollar. Better results.
Your Market
Your Customers Are Listening Right Now
National numbers are convincing. But what matters is right here — the people walking into your store, eating at your restaurant, calling your office. The Finger Lakes is a community where people know each other, support local businesses, and make decisions based on trust.
697,705
People in 10 Counties
265,000+
Daily Solo Commuters
$67,756
Median Household Income
70.6%
Homeownership Rate
While your customer is driving to work on Route 5 & 20 this morning, they are listening. Right now. The question is: are they hearing about your business?
In-Car Listening
Radio Dominates the Car
You hear a lot about streaming and podcasts. But people in the Finger Lakes spend a lot of time in the car. Getting to work, running errands, driving kids to practice, heading to the lake on weekends. And when they are in the car — where the majority of audio listening happens — AM/FM radio owns the dashboard.
80%+
of all ad-supported audio in vehicles is AM/FM radio
73%
of weekday drive-time listening happens in the car
65%
of all radio listening happens outside the home
61%
of all ad-supported audio time is AM/FM radio
Spotify and Pandora combined account for less than 15% of ad-supported audio time. In the car, it is even less. Try streaming on Route 14 south of Dundee, or on 245 between Middlesex and Naples. Cell service drops, but the radio signal does not. In a region where people drive 20, 30, 40 minutes to get anywhere, radio is not competing with streaming — it is the default.
Radio plus podcasts account for 82% of all ad-supported audio. The idea that "nobody listens to radio anymore" is not just wrong — it is the opposite of what the data shows.
Trust
More Than Background Noise
A banner ad disappears. A social post scrolls by. But when Larry Timko talks about your business during the morning commute from Penn Yan, that is a personal recommendation from someone people have been waking up with for years. Jim and Sorah are the voices that get people through the morning. Paul Szmal is how Geneva and Seneca Falls start their day. Ken and Woody are what the guys at the shop are listening to. These are not just hosts — they are neighbors.
When Lisa Cruz mentions a restaurant on Classic Hits, people go. When Larry reads a live spot for a local business, his listeners try it — because they trust him the way you trust a friend's recommendation. You cannot buy that kind of credibility with a digital ad. It is earned over years of being in people's ears, day after day, through snowstorms and school closings and Friday night football.
Our Advantage
The Finger Lakes Media Landscape
The Finger Lakes is not a big-city media market. There is no local TV station. The regional newspapers are either gone or arriving days after the news happened. What is left is FLX Local Media — the only media company that covers this entire region with local voices, local news, and local relationships.
- 7 radio stations across every major format. Country, News/Talk, AC, Classic Rock, Classic Hits, Easy Rock. Every demographic in the Finger Lakes is covered.
- Finger Lakes Daily News is the primary digital news source for the region.
- The only local media company combining radio, digital news, and newsletter covering the entire region. A single buy reaches the whole market.
- Regional TV comes from Rochester and Syracuse — neither treats the Finger Lakes as a primary market.
When you advertise with FLX Local Media, you are not buying a spot on one station. You are accessing the entire Finger Lakes audience — on air, online, and in their inbox. No other media company in this market can offer that.
Ready to reach the Finger Lakes?
No pressure, no jargon. Let's talk about what radio can do for your business.
All statistics sourced from Nielsen Audio Today 2026, Edison Research Q4 2025, and US Census Bureau ACS 2022. See our full methodology.