Digital radio draws 6m listeners
16 August 2007
Six million people are listening to the radio digitally - a massive rise since 2003, new figures have revealed.
Twelve per cent of listeners tune in regularly using digital radio, TV and the internet, while 25% of regular analogue users have also tried digital.
In 2003, only 900,000 people were regular digital listeners, according to radio industry analysts Rajar.
Overall radio listening figures have also risen, with 91% of the UK population accessing radio broadcasts.
The number of people tuning into the radio increased by 600,000 in the first three months of this year.
Commercial radio has registered its highest listening figures in four years with a regular audience of 32m, up more than one million compared to the same period in 2006.
Chris Moyles' show can be heard on digital and analogue platforms
BBC Radio 1's Chris Moyles added 200,000 new listeners to his breakfast show over the past three months.
With 7.26m listeners, Moyles has closed the gap on Sir Terry Wogan's BBC Radio 2 breakfast programme, which remains the UK's most popular early morning show.
Radio 1 added another 320,000 listeners during April to June, while Radio 2 saw a slight dip in its audience reach, but remains the country's most listened-to station.
The BBC's digital-only radio networks, including 6 Music and 1Xtra, now have a combined listenership of 3m people.
Mobile listening
It is the first time listening habits have been broken down into digital and analogue audience figures.
People tuning into the radio via digital sets, their digital televisions and online now amass 136m listening hours per week.
Listeners over the age of 15 are increasingly tuning into the radio using their mobile phones - the number has risen by 27% since the last period in 2006.
The number of people who listen to podcasts downloaded to their mp3 players has also risen from 1.9m to 2.7m.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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