BBC Local radio – currently facing major cuts to programmes and staffing levels under DQF – has posted an increase of more than a quarter of a million listeners over the last quarter.
According to the Q3/2011 RAJAR results, the network of 40 stations now has 7.25m listeners a week (17.3% reach), compared with 6.962m (16.7%) twelve months ago.
Quarter on quarter, the rise was slight – up by 26,000 from 7.224m to 7.25m.
Share of listening was down slightly on the quarter from 8.1% to 7.9% and down slightly year on year from 8.4% to 7.9%
David Holdsworth, Controller of BBC English Regions said: “BBC Local Radio is sustaining growth well with figures of well over 7 million listeners for the last four quarters. Our investment in political reporting and the strength of our journalism – through programmes such as those which hold local politicians and others to account – mean that every week 7,250,000 listeners are getting the local news, engagement and interaction that they want from their local stations.”