Commercial radio audience continues to grow with a third of listening now online

Commercial radio’s weekly audience reaches an impressive 40.1 million listeners each week according to the latest listening figures from RAJAR for the third quarter of 2024. This marks significant growth, up from 39.2 million in the same period last year.

The new figures also highlight the way audiences consume radio continues to change with online now accounting for a third of all listening for commercial radio, hitting 32.8% which is up year on year from 28.2%.

Together, all radio in the UK has attracted a new record audience of 50.9 million adults, up from its previous record of 50.8 million set in Q2 2024. Meanwhile, commercial radio’s share of listening now stands at 53.3%, a notable jump from 50.9% in the same period two years ago, while the BBC’s share is 44.5%.

For all radio, 17% of total listening now takes place on smart speakers which is a 22% increase year on year. Smart speaker listening on commercial radio continues to grow, now at 21.5%, up from 17% in the previous year.

Radiocentre CEO Matt Payton says:

“These strong audience figures provide more evidence of the continuing power and resonance of commercial radio in 2024, which is also evident from the positive trend in radio ad revenues. It’s an exciting time for brands to harness the power of radio and speak to millions of listeners across broadcast and online platforms.”