A record 50 million people in UK listening to radio as BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live see boost in Q2 following Radio 1 Big Weekend and start of the Men’s Euros

The RAJAR figures for Q2 2024 continue to highlight how audiences value BBC Radio with 32m people tuning in each week for live output across the stations, with a share of 42.6%. The biggest population increase in 75 years now sees a record 50.8 million people in the UK listening to radio.

There was a boost for Radio 1 and Greg James’ Breakfast Show, which remains the biggest breakfast show in the UK for young people. The start of the summer of sport also saw listener figures increase for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC 5 Sports Extra, although this period does not include Wimbledon or the final of Men’s Euro 2024. 

BBC Radio 2 remains the UK’s favourite radio station with Vernon Kay presenting the UK’s biggest radio show and Zoe Ball presenting the most popular breakfast show.

According to RAJAR, podcast listening is at an all-time high with 12.3 million people in the UK (15+) now listening to podcasts each week, a new record. This reflects evolving listener habits, with an increased appetite for podcasts and on-demand content, as digital audience figures continue to grow.

Perhaps unsurprisingly Michael Mosley’s Just One Thing (Radio 4) was the second most listened to podcast on BBC Sounds this quarter. His poignant final interview on How to Live a Good Life live from the Hay Festival was the top performing episode of the series.

There were some big new speech titles on BBC Sounds, including Miss Me? with Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver, which has been a hit with younger audiences, plus the return of the hugely popular Radio 4 To Catch A Scorpion (the latest series from the Intrigue strand) which dominated headlines, and History’s Secret Heroes, narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.

Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer, says: “I’m delighted to see the strength of the audio landscape with a record number of people listening to radio and podcasts across the UK. Radio 1’s Big Weekend has contributed to the brilliant organic growth of Radio 1 with an uplift for Greg James’ Breakfast show, which continues to be the number one choice for younger listeners in the UK. As we head towards a fantastic summer of sport it is excellent to already see such a big increase for BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra with more world class coverage to come. BBC Radio 4 speech programming continues to dominate on BBC Sounds, showcasing our thriving digital strategy. In addition, we’ve launched new and exciting podcasts for younger audiences including Miss Me? with Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver and Famously.”

RAJARS

• According to RAJARs, BBC Radio 1 had 8.7m listeners aged 10+ and the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James (Mon-Fri) had 4.4m 10+ listeners.
• BBC Radio 2 had 13.3m listeners with 6.4m tuning in for The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. Vernon Kay has the biggest UK radio show with 6.7m listeners.
• BBC Radio 3 had 1.8m listeners.
• BBC Radio 4 had 9m listeners with 5.6m tuning in for The Today programme (Mon-Sat).
• BBC Radio 5 Live posted a reach of 5.4m listeners.
• BBC Radio 1Xtra had 829k listeners, BBC Radio 4 Extra had 1.4m, BBC 5 Sports Extra had 1.1m, BBC Radio 6 Music had 2.7m, and BBC Asian Network had 644k.
• The BBC World Service was listened to by 1.2m people, and BBC Nations radio and Local BBC Radio in England had a combined audience of 7m.

BBC Sounds delivers a strong quarter with new podcast hits including Miss Me? and popular returning Radio 4 Intrigue series

Listeners continue to come to BBC Sounds for top quality podcasts and on demand programmes. BBC Radio 4 speech content continues to dominate the BBC Sounds top ten podcasts with 8 out of 10 titles coming from the network, including comedy such as It’s a Fair Cop, drama strand Limelight, and popular returning titles including, History’s Secret Heroes and Uncanny.

The BBC has received 34 nominations at the British Podcast Awards with a breadth of genres receiving recognition, demonstrating the world class content available to audiences on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds figures remain strong in Q2 with 608 million plays of all content across radio, podcasts and music mixes, an increase of almost 5% from the same period last year.

Data shows there was a weekly audience average of 4.88 million with a peak of 5 million weekly users.

• Newscast took the top spot yet again as the most listened to podcast on BBC Sounds and the top podcast with listeners under 35 and Americast also made it into the top ten most listened to podcasts.
• Michael Mosley’s Just One Thing podcast from BBC Radio 4 was the second most listened to podcast on BBC Sounds this quarter. His poignant final interview on How to Live a Good Life live from the Hay Festival was the top performing episode of the series.
• Radio 4’s The Archers continues to be the most popular on demand radio programme for all adults again this quarter, followed by Whodunnits on Radio 4 Extra and Desert Island Discs.
• Audio drama continues to perform well with the popular Limelight series in the top 5 most listened to podcasts and the Drama on 4 genre was among the most listened to programmes on demand.
• The most popular on demand music programme was Sounds of the 60s with Tony Blackburn on BBC Radio 2.
• Music focused programming dominated in popularity with younger listeners and had the highest percentage of listeners aged under 35. BBC Radio 1 made up 9 out of the top 10 most popular on-demand radio shows on BBC Sounds, with Radio 1 10s taking the top spot, followed by the 00’s and Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James. BBC Radio 1Xtra’s breakfast show with Nadia Jae was also in the top 10.
• The Sleeping Forecast was the most listened to music mix on BBC Sounds again this quarter, followed by Mindful Mix, Sounds of the 90s with Fearne Cotton and Pace Setter.
• June saw an uplift in listeners for Rob Burrow’s award-winning interview series Rob Burrow Seven Meets following the sad news of his death.
• There were a total of 209 million downloads for BBC podcasts around the world this quarter, up 6 million from quarter 1. The Global News Podcast was the most popular on third party platforms followed by The Documentary Podcast and Newscast. New release Miss Me? also made it into the top globally downloaded podcasts.

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Notes 

 *Please note that in accordance with the annual population update, in Q2 2024 the UK population (adults 15+)  is estimated to have increased by 1.3 million adults to 57.6 million adults. Therefore we advise caution when assessing period-on-period audience changes and recommend comparing change in absolute audience alongside the % of the population/age-group reach.