Growth in commercial radio audience continues

Commercial radio continues to reach huge audiences across the UK with the latest RAJAR figures for the last quarter of 2024 confirming that 40 million people are tuning in each week, up from 39 million in the same period last year and 38 million in 2022.

This latest annual increase for Q4 2024 follows the pattern across 2024 of the commercial radio audience growing year-on-year in each quarter.

These new audience figures also highlight that the way people listen continues to change, with online listening accounting for almost a third (31.1%) of all commercial radio listening, up significantly from 28.9% in Q4 2023.

Overall, the weekly audience for all of UK radio also remains extremely strong with 50.2 million people tuning in, up year on year from 49.5 million in Q4 2023.

Commercial radio as a whole also continues to widen its lead over the BBC, now reaching 8.2 million more listeners than BBC stations, growing from 7.8 million in the same quarter of 2023. Commercial radio share of listening is now at 54% compared to 44% for the BBC.

For all radio, smart speaker listening is 16.1% of total listening which is up from 14.7% in Q4 2023. Much of this growth is driven by commercial radio and the continued innovation of broadcasters, with smart speaker listening at 19.8%.

Radiocentre’s CEO Matt Payton says:

“These strong figures for commercial radio underscore its enduring presence in the everyday lives of people across the UK. This continued popularity provides advertisers with incredible opportunities to reach huge audiences in a trusted environment.

The fact that online platforms and connected devices like smart speakers represent such a significant share of listening also reminds us of the importance of establishing a new regulatory framework for the industry. We look forward to working with Ofcom on the detail of this as it begins the process of implementing the Media Act.”