The RAJAR radio listening figures for the second quarter of 2024 (up to June 23) have been published.
Here, Music Week breaks down the ratings across BBC and commercial networks…
BBC
BBC Radio had 32 million people tuning in each week for live output across the stations, with a share of 42.6%. The biggest population increase in 75 years contributed to a record 50.8m people in the UK listening to radio.
BBC Radio 1 was among the winners for the Corporation with a year-on-year increase of 5.6% (and an even more impressive 11.1% on the prior quarter) to 8.12m listeners. It’s almost two years since the station has topped eight million listeners, although that was under a different measurement system.
During Q2, it was also up at breakfast to just over four million.
Radio 1 won the Radio Station trophy at the Music Week Awards (pictured) earlier this year.
Aled Haydn Jones, head of BBC Radio 1, said: “I’m very proud that Radio 1 has increased its audience by 461,000 taking our weekly listeners to 8.7 million [includining under 15], in addition to increases across the board for our core audience of 15-24s. These results, coupled with Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James continuing to be the No.1 breakfast show for young audiences in the country and further increases across YouTube, iPlayer and socials, demonstrate why Radio 1 is the No.1 station for young people across the UK.”
Radio 1 showed an increase in average hours per listener this quarter of 31 minutes (for those aged 10+).
BBC Radio 2 remains the most popular station in the UK on 13.32m listeners, although it had a fairly flat quarter – down 1.0% year-on-year and up 0.7% on the prior quarter. Nevertheless, that’s a decent result following a narrative about audience decline in the wake of Ken Bruce’s departure. Average listener hours were also up to 10.6.
Zoe Ball has the most popular breakfast show in the UK with 6.42m listeners.
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “We’re incredibly proud that Radio 2 remains the UK’s favourite station with over 13.3 million people tuning in each week, and delighted that The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and Vernon Kay on weekday mid-mornings continue to be the UK’s most listened to shows.”
BBC Radio 6 Music remains the most popular digital station with 2.74m listeners (up 2.8% year-on-year).
BBC Asian Network surged ahead with 27.5% year-on-year growth to 644,000.
Meanwhile, BBC 1Xtra is slowly pushing back up towards its previous heights above a million listeners. It’s on 829,000 thanks to an annual uplift of 8.8%.
BBC Radio 3 continues its growth trajectory with listeners up 7.6% to 1.83m. A Proms boost could be on the cards for the Q3 numbers.
GLOBAL
Commercial radio had a record 40.5m weekly listeners in Q2, up 3.2% year-on-year (ahead of the substantial population growth).
Global has seen another quarter of growth with a record breaking 28.6m people tuning in each week to its brands. It remains the most popular commercial radio group in the UK and has achieved its bestever share of 26.5%.
Heart’s network figure was up 13% year-on-year to 9.63m.
Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, which was flat in terms of audience growth, is the biggest commercial radio and breakfast show in the UK with 4.2m weekly listeners.
Capital Network jumped 16.3% to 6.99m.
Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby reached 2.8m listeners in North’s first RAJAR since joining the station. The show added 261,000 listeners in the last quarter and is also up in hours and share.
Capital Dance achieved its highest ever listening figures with 1.1m (up 7.2% year-on-year, and an extra 124,000 listeners in the last quarter).
Capital Xtra’s beaten its previous record, and now has 1.7m people listening to the main network (up 17.3% year-on-year). Capital Xtra Breakfast with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie has 620,000 listeners, increasing in reach, hours and share year-on-year.
Capital Xtra Reloaded scored a new high for the fifth quarter in a row. It now has 635,000 weekly listeners, up 41.1% year-on-year.
Radio X managed its highest ever weekly reach with 2.15m listeners tuning in every week.
At breakfast on Radio X, The Chris Moyles Show, which was up year-on-year, now reaches 1.2m listeners. Johnny Vaughan had his highest ever reach at drive time, passing the one million mark for the first time.
Radio X Classic Rock also had its highest ever weekly audience of 299,000 listeners.
Ashley Tabor-King, founder & executive president of Global, said: “To have again added another million listeners for the second quarter in a row, now reaching over 28 million listeners each week, is simply incredible! It’s fantastic news for our creative industries that radio and audio is thriving in this way, with more people listening than ever before. The ease of connected listening on smart speakers and quality apps like our own Global Player - is helping to fuel growth, alongside consistent, innovative, quality content. Commercial radio is an incredible promotional partner to artists and brands, helping to reach fans and audiences at a phenomenal scale. Thanks to every globaller who works so hard to make everyone’s day brighter, and to every single listener that chooses and trusts our radio brands every week.”
James Rea, chief broadcasting & content officer at Global, said: “What an absolutely fantastic gold-medal winning RAJAR quarter this is for Global! It’s incredible to see so many record breaking performances. Congratulations to Jordan North and the whole Capital team for a truly outstanding result. It’s also fantastic that Heart, Smooth and Radio X continue to grow to new highs. We have the very best team at Global and I’m so proud of how they continue to reinvigorate and reinvent to drive our audiences forward. This is truly a moment to celebrate.”
BAUER MEDIA AUDIO UK
Bauer Media Audio UK achieved a record reach of more than 24m weekly listeners.
The Hits Radio Network had a record 7.07m listeners (up 7.8% year-on-year), while the Absolute Radio Network managed a record 5.56m weekly listeners (up 2.4% year-on-year).
Greatest Hits Radio has added 1.7m listeners in the last year, with 7.52m weekly listeners (up 30% year-on-year). Simon Mayo has the biggest commercial drivetime show, while Ken Bruce now reaches a record four million listeners.
Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio combined (the Hits Radio Portfolio) now reach 13.24m listeners (up 16.3% year-on-year) and 15.1m (up 11.8%) when partner stations are included.
The Absolute Radio Network secured its biggest ever audience of 5.56m listeners (up 2.4% year-on-year), although the main Absolute Radio station slumped by 12% year-on-year to 2.07m. At least Dave Berry is still solid at breakfast with 2.21m listeners.
Amid a surge in interest for the genre, Absolute Radio Country has gained a 27.9% year-on-year increase in its audience with 458,000 weekly listeners. (Global’s Smooth Country was also up year-on-year with 13.3% growth to 426,000.)
Kiss had a difficult quarter with its main station down 19.3% year-on-year although it remains just above two million listeners. Kisstory is still the No.1 digital commercial station with 2.38m listeners, off by 6.4% year-on-year.
Over a third of Bauer’s listening is now via connected devices including smart speakers, web and app, with a further 50% of listening on DAB.
Simon Myciunka, CEO for Bauer Media Audio UK, said: “The reach, resilience and reinvention of commercial radio has led to another set of record-breaking RAJAR figures. At Bauer Media Audio UK, our continued growth is down to delivering brands that resonate with our audiences and advertisers. It’s our team’s commitment to excellence, coupled with smart distribution and investment that drives our success and sets the stage for an even brighter future.”
Gary Stein, director of audio for Bauer Media Audio UK, said: “What another stunning set of results for Bauer Media Audio UK. In a quarter where we rebranded 16 stations across England and Wales to Hits Radio, I’m delighted this has resulted in a record reach for Hits Radio and the wider network. It’s also great to see Absolute Radio Network hit new highs, and Ken Bruce continue to grow audience, with Greatest Hits Radio extending its position as the UK’s most listened to commercial station. A huge well done to our brilliant teams up and down the country.”
Elsewhere, Virgin Radio was up 13.2% year-on-year to 1.63m listeners. Chris Evans was up slightly at breakfast to 901,000 listeners.
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