The National Association of Broadcasters recently commissioned a study online by Harris Interactive (News - Alert) between August 31 and September 2. The survey asked around 2,587 U.S. adults 18 and older about their preferences for cell phones with radio capabilities.

According to the survey’s findings, almost 76 percent of the cell phone owners were willing to pay a one-time fee of 30 cents for that facility- uncovering that access to local radio stations through a built-in radio chip on mobile phones has become a favorite amongst Americans.

In addition, 66 percent of all adults indicated that they would listen to local radio stations on their cell phones if that feature was available, and younger adults seemed to favor this more than the older ones.Weather and music were the top reasons cited as 73 percent of the cell phone owners said that a built-in radio would be capable of providing emergency alerts in real-time, and they considered this as an important feature.

Parents are also more likely to want to listen to local radio stations on their cell phone with 70 percent of parents indicated they would use this function.

"Our poll indicates that a sizable majority of Americans are interested in the ability to listen to local stations in order to get news, weather and other information and would even pay a small one-time fee to get the service," Aaron Heffron, Vice President of Public Affairs Research for Harris Interactive, said.

Heffron added that young people seem especially enthusiastic about this additional function that they would always have in their pocket. Surprisingly, most Americans seemed unaware of the fact that they could purchase a cell phone with a built-in radio, and 61 percent indicated that they were ignorant of such features being available.