Commercial radio has extended its lead over the BBC to its widest margin in the current RAJAR era, while Bauer’s KISS enjoyed one of the strongest audience revivals of the quarter and a number of Northern brands posted encouraging performances.
The latest RAJAR listening figures, covering April 6 to June 28, show a record 51.1 million UK adults tuned into radio each week – equivalent to 87% of the population. Commercial radio now reaches 40.2 million listeners every week, while the BBC’s combined audience has fallen to 30.9 million. Commercial radio’s share of listening also increased to 55.1%, compared with 42.6% for the BBC.
For Northern broadcasters and audio businesses, the results paint a mixed picture, with Bauer seeing strong momentum behind KISS and Greatest Hits Radio, while BBC Radio 6 Music remained one of the UK’s strongest digital stations.
Bauer brands deliver encouraging quarter
Bauer Media Audio UK, headquartered in Hamburg but with significant operations across Manchester and the North, reached 22.7 million weekly listeners across its owned and partner stations.
The standout performer was KISS, which continued its revival following last year’s rebrand. The station grew 32% year-on-year to 1.75 million weekly listeners, while KISS Breakfast with Tyler West and Chloe Burrows climbed 40% to 668,000.
KISSTORY also regained the two-million mark, reaching 2.03 million listeners to remain the UK’s biggest commercial digital radio station.
Across Bauer’s wider portfolio:
- The Greatest Hits Radio Network reached 6.86 million listeners, growing quarter-on-quarter, with Ken Bruce remaining the UK’s biggest commercial radio presenter.
- The Hits Radio Network reached 6.54 million listeners, while spin-off stations Hits Radio 90s and Hits Radio 00s posted year-on-year growth of 48% and 50% respectively.
- Absolute Radio Network attracted 5.4 million listeners, with Absolute Radio 00s hitting a record 510,000.
- Kerrang! enjoyed a 17% year-on-year increase to 615,000 listeners.
Simon Myciunka, president of Bauer Media Audio UK, said: “These figures prove the strength and breadth of our portfolio. Having invested in a bold new identity for KISS, it’s great to see continued momentum as audiences enjoy its refreshed line-up.
“The media market is more turbulent than ever, yet despite the carousel of new platforms, consumers consistently turn to audio. The nation doesn’t just trust radio, it has a deep connection to it, as demonstrated by radio’s biggest ever audience and our fantastic results.”
Gary Stein, Bauer’s director of audio, added: “After a long hot summer, this is a scorching result for KISS and a brilliant reflection of the energy Tyler and Chloe have brought to Breakfast. They’ve made the show feel fresh, fun and genuinely connected to younger audiences.
“Greatest Hits Radio has also grown this quarter and, with Zoe Ball joining the line-up in September, is entering another exciting chapter.”
BBC holds firm despite challenging period
The BBC endured a relatively stable quarter despite a turbulent period for the corporation.
BBC Radio 2 retained its position as the UK’s biggest individual station with 12.37 million weekly listeners, while Vernon Kay continued as the country’s most-listened-to radio presenter with an audience of 6.8 million.
Digital station BBC Radio 6 Music remained steady at 2.59 million listeners, maintaining its position as the UK’s biggest digital-only station. Breakfast host Nick Grimshaw also saw his audience increase by 3% year-on-year to 1.29 million.
BBC Radio 1’s core station slipped 8% year-on-year to 6.9 million listeners, although its wider brand audience grew to 7.55 million following the launch of Radio 1 Dance and Radio 1 Anthems.
Global extends commercial lead
Global once again emerged as the UK’s biggest commercial radio group, reaching 29 million listeners each week and accounting for a 27.5% share of all radio listening.
The company continued to promote Heart as the UK’s biggest radio brand, ahead of BBC Radio 2 when all Heart-branded stations are combined, while Capital also remained ahead of the overall Radio 1 brand.
LBC achieved another record audience, while Radio X, Classic FM and Smooth all remained broadly stable.
Northern stations see mixed fortunes
Among regional stations, there were several notable performances.
Smooth Radio North West & Wales recorded one of the strongest local increases in the country, while Hits Radio Lancashire grew by 21%.
BBC Radio Lancashire also enjoyed a strong quarter, increasing its audience by 21% to 177,000 listeners.
Elsewhere, STV Radio made an encouraging debut in its first RAJAR survey with 139,000 weekly listeners.
News brands continue to grow
The news radio market also saw significant movement too. GB News Radio was one of the fastest-growing stations in the UK, increasing its audience by 34% year-on-year to 731,000 listeners, overtaking both Talk and Times Radio.
LBC News reached a record 1.2 million listeners, while Times Radio also achieved its highest-ever audience.
Commercial radio’s strongest position yet
The figures underline commercial radio’s continued momentum, with audiences increasingly consuming content via digital platforms and smart speakers.
Online radio now reaches more than 30% of UK adults each week, while total radio listening exceeded one billion hours during the quarter.
Radiocentre chief executive Matt Payton said the record audience demonstrated radio’s continuing strength across multiple platforms, adding that commercial radio continues to offer advertisers “mass reach in a trusted environment.”
