Industry News

Commercial radio continues to deliver for listeners

The latest audience figures (Q2 2016) have been released by RAJAR, the body responsible for measuring radio audiences in the UK.

Commercial radio has again delivered strong results for reach, with an audience of 35,570,000 compared to 35,066,000 for the BBC.

However, time spent listening to the BBC is still greater than commercial broadcasters. BBC stations account for a 52.2% market share of listening hours compared to 45.2% for commercial radio.

UK radio’s overall weekly reach is now 90.1% (up from 89.9% year-on-year). On average, listeners are tuning in for an extra 30 minutes of live radio every week, with figures climbing from 21 hours, to 21.5 hours this quarter. 59% of Brits tune into digital radio weekly, up from 57% in May.

Lucy Barrett, Radiocentre’s Client Director says:

“Commercial radio continues to offer an amazing range of choices for listeners and advertisers and it is brilliant to see this reflected in our sector’s reach. It is unsurprising that people turn to radio, the original broadcast medium, for reassurance in turbulent times. Commercial stations have more to offer than ever and Radiocentre will continue to support the commercial radio sector deliver for listeners.”

An infographic summarising some of the headlines is available here.