RAJAR has published its radio listening figures for Q4 2024, covering the three months up to December 15.
It was a busy quarter with the launch of more than 15 new commercial radio stations, and two new music streams on BBC Sounds.
Read on for the ratings ups and downs across BBC and commercial radio…
BBC
The BBC music networks had a positive quarter across the board.
During Q4, 31.7 million people listened to the BBC’s programming across its radio stations, with a share of 44.2%.
BBC Radio 1’s weekly audience was up 2.8% year-on-year to 7.54m, although it was down almost 8% on the prior quarter.
Greg James’ Breakfast Show was up to 4.1m listeners, a gain of almost 200,000 in the past year.
“Greg James remains the No.1 Breakfast Show in the country for young listeners as he goes from strength to strength, and Radio 1 reaching over 20 million across video and socials shows the importance of phones for our audience,” said Aled Haydn Jones, head of Radio 1.
BBC Radio 2 remains the nation’s favourite station with more than 13.65m listeners, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year (and much the same for the quarter). Vernon Kay’s mid-morning show is the biggest in the country, with a growing audience of 7.2m. Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show attracted 6.8m listeners (up more than 250,000 on 12 months ago) during her final months as the host of what is still the most listened to breakfast show. Scott Mills took over last month.
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “I am thrilled that Radio 2 remains the most popular radio station in the UK with 13.6m weekly listeners, and I’m immensely proud of the whole of the Radio 2 schedule. Zoe Ball continued to host the UK’s most listened to Breakfast Show, and Vernon Kay celebrates fantastic figures which continue to grow, with 7.2m weekly listeners tuning in to his mid morning show, making it the most listened to programme in UK radio.”
Elsewhere at the corporation, BBC Radio 1Xtra saw a revival in the quarter – up 13% year-on-year (and slightly up on the prior quarter) to 811,000 listeners.
The BBC Radio 3 surge continued with a 10% increase year-on-year to 1.95m. That was slightly off on the quarter, although some of the network’s listeners may have been distracted by the launch of the Radio 3 Unwind digital stream on BBC Sounds.
Asian Network was up a whopping 29.2% year-on-year to 579,000 – but down on the prior quarter.
BBC Radio 6 Music attracted 2.78m listeners (up 10.2% year-on-year) – and it is still the biggest digital station in the UK.
On BBC Sounds (not part of the RAJAR figures) there was a record 644m plays of all content across radio, podcasts and music mixes between October and December 2024. and a record 253m plays of on-demand radio and podcasts.
Charlotte Moore, BBC chief content officer, said: “The radio sector in the UK is going through rapid change with an explosion of new stations, and I’m delighted that Radio 2 and Radio 6 Music with their incredible presenters, expert music teams and unrivalled live content are proving so popular with audiences.
“We know that people’s listening habits and expectations are shifting to suit their moods and interests. More so than ever, it’s paramount that we continue to innovate and give licence fee payers more choice from the BBC across our distinctive music extensions, on demand radio and world class podcasts.”
GLOBAL
With a sixth consecutive quarter of growth, Global had 29.24m people listening each week to its brands.
As the most popular commercial radio group in the UK, Global has maintained its best ever share of 26.9%, with 279m hours of radio listening for brands including Capital, Heart, LBC, Smooth, Radio X and Classic FM.
New stations launching at Global include Capital Anthems (440,000 listeners) and Smooth 80s (533,000 listeners in London). In London, Global has the top three commercial stations for reach, hours and share – Heart, Capital and LBC.
Heart cemented its position as the No.1 commercial radio brand a record-breaking 13.3m weekly listeners. The Heart network was up 13.8% year-on-year to 10.1m listeners (and up 2.7% on the prior quarter).
Heart Breakfast had 4.2m weekly listeners. Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden host the UK’s biggest commercial breakfast show.
Meanwhile, the Heart decade stations have achieved their highest listening figures to date. Heart’s new decade station, Heart 10s, opened with 292,000 weekly listeners in its first RAJAR. Heart Musicals has 134,000 weekly listeners, while Heart Love attracts 201,000 people each week.
The main Capital network soared by 26.8% to 7.44m.
Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Siân Welby reaches 2.9m listeners. The show added 482,000 listeners in the last year.
Capital Dance achieved its highest ever figures with 1.17m listeners (up 36.4% year-on-year).
Capital Xtra, however, was down 1.7% year-on-year – though that still amounts to an impressive 1.66m listeners. As Global likes to point out, it outperforms both 1Xtra and KISS. And sister station Capital Xtra Reloaded jumped by 20.8% year-on-year to just under 600,000 listeners.
Radio X secured 2.12m listeners, an increase of 5.5% on a year ago. The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X continues to reach 1.1m listeners every morning.
In September, Radio X launched its new decade stations 90s and 00s providing “guitar-based nostalgia”. Radio X 90s launches with 129,000 weekly listeners, while Radio X 00s is just ahead on 133,000. There’s consistency with these new brand extensions – Radio X Chilled’s debut figures are 129,000 listeners.
Ashley Tabor-King, founder & executive president of Global, said: “To have a sixth consecutive quarter of growth is frankly incredible and not something we would ever take for granted. Radio really is at the heart of so many people’s lives every day – in the home and on the move. Smart speakers have made it easy to access our content, and investment in entertainment apps like our own Global Player means people can reach a whole new world of digital content from our brands. The fact that so many people choose to be with our brands, which are truly thriving, with Heart, Smooth and Radio X all delivering record-breaking numbers, is an enormous privilege.”
James Rea, chief broadcasting & content officer at Global, said: “It’s fantastic to start the year with such a strong set of numbers for Global – a sixth consecutive record! I’m especially pleased for the team at Heart breaking through the 13 million listener mark [across the brand] which is such a wonderful achievement. Well done once again to the amazing team we have at Global.”
BAUER MEDIA AUDIO UK
Bauer Media Audio UK edged up year-on-year with a combined reach of 23.4m weekly listeners in the latest RAJAR results.
Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio combined now reaches a record 13.29m listeners (up 10.6% year-on-year) and 15.4m (up 9.3% year-on-year) when partner stations are included.
The Hits Radio Network secured an audience of 7.17m, an increase of 13.2% year-on-year.
Greatest Hits Radio has 7.37m listeners (up 9.1% year-on-year). Ken Bruce has four million listeners, while Bauer points out that Kate Thornton is the most listened to solo female presenter anywhere on commercial radio in the UK.
GHR’s Simon Mayo continues to host the No.1 commercial drive time show (2.8m listeners), while Rossie at Breakfast had over three million listeners for the first time. Greatest Hits Radio 60s debuted with a 386,000-strong audience.
The Absolute Radio Network registered 5.61m listeners, growth of 6.1% year-on-year. Absolute Radio Country achieved a record 610,000 weekly listeners (up almost 50% year-on-year) and Absolute Radio 90s hit a new high of 1.03m (up 8.6% year-on-year). The Dave Berry Breakfast Show reaches a record audience of 2.4m (up 5.3% year-on-year).
The KISS Network had 3.76m listeners (down 10.9% year-on-year); the main KISS station has lost more than half its audience in the past year (down 53.8% to 1.08m).
Kisstory remains the no.1 digital-only commercial station (2.16m, down 8.6% year-on-year). New stations KISS Dance and Kisstory R&B launched with 720,000 listeners and 530,000 listeners respectively, perhaps explaining the steep decline for the main KISS station, the bulk of which came during the fourth quarter.
A third of Bauer’s listening is via connected devices including smart speakers, web and app, with a further 54% of listening on DAB. Bauer is also home to three of the top five digital commercial stations: Kisstory at No.1, along with Absolute Radio (No.2) and Absolute 80s (No.4).
Simon Myciunka, CEO for Bauer Media Audio UK, said: "These results demonstrate the strength of our brands, the hard work of our teams and the connection we have with audiences across the UK. The continued growth of our networks, including Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio shows that our content resonates with listeners. We remain laser focused on evolving our offer and providing high-quality audio experiences for both our audiences and commercial partners."
Gary Stein, director of audio for Bauer Media Audio UK, said: "These results once again highlight the powerful connection our audiences share with the authentic talent at the core of Bauer brands. We’re thrilled to build on this success and look forward to an exciting year ahead as we welcome Gok Wan, Gaby Roslin, Mel Giedroyc, and Nicki Chapman to Magic Radio. My thanks go to all our on-air talent who continue to engage and entertain millions across the nation every single day."
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