Nielsen Ratings have included over the air radio's online stream as a separate entry for a long time now. Oscar, you're obviously trying to pick a fight. A radio station, perhaps better described as an FCC licensed entity is what we call over the air radio and the device used to receive that broadcast can be any mode the listener chooses: radio or stream. The distinction has always been a radio station that is broadcast over the AM or FM dial PLUS online versus an online only product.
The device used to receive an over the air broadcast is changing and has been for many years. Even so, the availability of radio and the lack of cost involved has kept the device termed a radio a very popular device.
In my research, this is proven. A streaming only college station at a school of almost 12,000 has 153.7 listening hours a week. They do a fine job in programming and promotion. In fact, I'm shocked by the low number. A school with under 3,000 and an over the air and streaming option gets around 851.78 listening hours a week online. These figures indicate the over the air signal builds awareness for the online stream. In this respect, the over the air signal that promotes the online presence, increases online listening hugely. Why? The over air signal has the listeners to effect this. Likewise, a college of nearly 45,000 commissioned a study: 78.1% of listeners opted for the audio via cable TV versus the 21.9% that chose to listen online. Why? It frees up the mobile device for other things and, the big thing, it doesn't cost them anything (data) to listen.
The biggest things I have uncovered: over the air does better (even over closed circuit or cable TV audio) because they are free, don't use data the user pays for and listening online is interrupted by other uses for the phone/mobile device (try taking a call while streaming, something you can do with a device called a radio). For listening, it is not the first option on the list of things to do with a mobile device but a device called radio is the first and only option for listening to radio.
I guess the best terminology is to clarify over the air signals that may or may not stream: such listening is not falling off as the doomsayers claim. The device is changing but the product being listened to by all but a very tiny group is a the over the air signal or it's streaming version. In other words if it was 25% listening via a radio and 75% via the stream, the broadcast radio station is not losing audience, it's mode of delivery would have changed.
Now, consider this: in many cities there are over the air broadcast TV stations. How many people receive that programming in a manner other than directly over the air? Do they have no viewers because people watch them via Dish, cable or streaming?