Radio listening in the UK has hit an all time high, with 46.3 million adults now tuning in to a radio station each week.
Listening hours to digital radio is up to 217 million, with ownership of a DAB digital set is up 22 per cent from this time last year. Listening via a mobile phone is also increasing.
Commercial Radio has attracted more listeners this quarter, with 42.7 per cent share of the listening population tuning in. Andrew Harrison, chief executive of RadioCentre, the industry body for Commercial Radio said: “Today’s record results show that radio is still very much at the heart of consumers’ busy lives. It is very encouraging to see that once again more and more people continue to tune into commercial radio and it is particularly pleasing to regain some market share.”
Harrison added: “More listeners continue to tune into commercial radio via a digital platform with DAB leading the charge and this bodes well for the future.”
Digital only stations Fun Kids and Jazz FM are enjoying an increase in listeners this quarter too.
Fun Kids, which recently launched on DAB in London for the summer, now has 112,000 kids and adults listening in the capital alone. Matt Deegan, the station’s Programme Controller says “We’re really pleased that more kids, mums and dads are listening to Fun Kids every day. We’re working really hard to make it the best radio station for kids”.
Jazz FM, which will shortly celebrate its first birthday, has added an extra 74,000 listeners this quarter, taking it to 482,000 listeners. Jazz FM Chairman Richard Wheatly says:“I was confident that the UK still needed a jazz station when Jazz FM was dropped from fm in June 2005. I am delighted with this month’s RAJAR, which reflect the appetite for a contemporary jazz station elegantly shaped for today’s digital generation. Our goal for the year was to become the UK’s interactive home of all things jazz, I do believe we might already be there.”
The Digital Radio Development Bureau report nearly 17 million adults are living in a household with a digital radio. Tony Moretta, Chief Executive of the DRDB says: “These figures confirm that more and more radio listeners in the UK are embracing the enormous benefits of digital radio. The numbers are particularly heartening as they show that there are a quarter of a million new people every month tuning on to digital radio.”