Rachel_Sandford
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According to figures released by Rajar this past Thursday, digital radio is on the rise while Chris Evans is probably doing a victory dance.
The figures for the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] quarter of the year show that in the UK, digital radio has taken 28.2% of all radio consumption, around 300 listening hours, and listening via smartphone is up by 25%. BBC director of audio and music, Tim Davie notes that there is a “clear transition” of radio to digital, though the transition is not quite complete as regular radio listening is still pulling in millions of listeners across the country.
Radio 3, the classical station still has over 2 million listeners, while Smooth UK saw an increase of listeners to 3.3 million. Radio 4's audience has been up 200,000 year-on-year, however their weekly audience of 10.8 million dropped to 10.5 million with their Today show going from 7.1 million to 6.7 million. BBC5Live's lost 58,000 listeners over the last 12 months, but their 5Live Sports Extra took a record 1.15 million listeners each week; likely to have been boosted by Test Match Special coverage of England vs India.
Still pulling in the highest listeners, however, are Radio 1 and Radio 2. Chris Evans' audience is up to 8.86 million in the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] quarter of 2011, giving him 1.7 million more listeners than rival Chris Moyles. Evans, who succeeded Sir Terry Wogan in 2010 has always enjoyed quite a lead over Moyles when it comes to ratings. His station, Radio 2, has also seen its audience grow 4.6% year-on-year to 14.31 million listeners. Arguably the most popular radio station in the UK, many of its shows reached record audiences in the past quarter. This include Ken Bruce's weekday morning show, DJ Simon Mayo's drivetime show, and Desmond Carrington's home broadcast on Friday evenings.
Despite having only 7.16 million listeners, down from 7.4 million, Chris Moyles' station, Radio 1 recorded its highest weekly audience since 1999. This is the highest reach since new audience methodology was introduced. It now has 11.85 million listeners; a good send off for former controller Andy Parfitt who left the station end of July.
Ben Cooper, Radio 1 acting controller, said “I am thrilled that we've achieved a record reach for Radio 1. Whether it was standing in a muddy field in wellies or being in a club in Ibiza, this summer was all about us getting out and about reflecting the best live and new music from UK festivals and abroad. Plus, Scot Mills and Nick Grimshaw returned to the Edinurgh Festival Fringe where, digitally we continued to pioneer ways of listening and talking to our young audience via our new website, the BBC Red Button and on Facebook, Twitter and Skype.”
The figures for the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] quarter of the year show that in the UK, digital radio has taken 28.2% of all radio consumption, around 300 listening hours, and listening via smartphone is up by 25%. BBC director of audio and music, Tim Davie notes that there is a “clear transition” of radio to digital, though the transition is not quite complete as regular radio listening is still pulling in millions of listeners across the country.
Radio 3, the classical station still has over 2 million listeners, while Smooth UK saw an increase of listeners to 3.3 million. Radio 4's audience has been up 200,000 year-on-year, however their weekly audience of 10.8 million dropped to 10.5 million with their Today show going from 7.1 million to 6.7 million. BBC5Live's lost 58,000 listeners over the last 12 months, but their 5Live Sports Extra took a record 1.15 million listeners each week; likely to have been boosted by Test Match Special coverage of England vs India.
Still pulling in the highest listeners, however, are Radio 1 and Radio 2. Chris Evans' audience is up to 8.86 million in the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] quarter of 2011, giving him 1.7 million more listeners than rival Chris Moyles. Evans, who succeeded Sir Terry Wogan in 2010 has always enjoyed quite a lead over Moyles when it comes to ratings. His station, Radio 2, has also seen its audience grow 4.6% year-on-year to 14.31 million listeners. Arguably the most popular radio station in the UK, many of its shows reached record audiences in the past quarter. This include Ken Bruce's weekday morning show, DJ Simon Mayo's drivetime show, and Desmond Carrington's home broadcast on Friday evenings.
Despite having only 7.16 million listeners, down from 7.4 million, Chris Moyles' station, Radio 1 recorded its highest weekly audience since 1999. This is the highest reach since new audience methodology was introduced. It now has 11.85 million listeners; a good send off for former controller Andy Parfitt who left the station end of July.
Ben Cooper, Radio 1 acting controller, said “I am thrilled that we've achieved a record reach for Radio 1. Whether it was standing in a muddy field in wellies or being in a club in Ibiza, this summer was all about us getting out and about reflecting the best live and new music from UK festivals and abroad. Plus, Scot Mills and Nick Grimshaw returned to the Edinurgh Festival Fringe where, digitally we continued to pioneer ways of listening and talking to our young audience via our new website, the BBC Red Button and on Facebook, Twitter and Skype.”