Commercial radio closes gap on BBC
Rajars: Commercial radio has gained ground on the BBC after registering an increase in its share of the UK radio market in the last quarter, according to the latest Rajar data.
The commercial sector’s share rose slightly to 42.7% in the three months to 30 June, up from 41.6% in the first quarter of the year and an improvement on the 42.4% enjoyed in the same period last year.
In contrast, the BBC saw its share drop to 54.6%, down quarter -on-quarter and year-on-year.
The commercial sector also outpaced the BBC in terms of weekly reach in the quarter, up 4.2% on quarter one to 13.8m listeners compared with the 0.9% gain across all BBC stations, which registered 34m listeners.
The commercial sector also increased its share of the advertiser-friendly 15-44 demographic, up to 52.9% from 51.6% in quarter one but down on last year’s 53.1%.
Andrew Harrison, chief executive of RadioCentre, says: “It is very encouraging to see that once again more and more people continue to tune into commercial radio and it is particularly pleasing to regain some market share.”
At breakfast, BBC Radio 2’s Terry Wogan (pictured) remains the most listened to show in the UK with a weekly reach of 7.9m listeners, up on last quarter and on last year. Wogan is trailed by Chris Moyles at Radio 1, up to 7.7m and the Today show on BBC Radio 4 with 6.5m.
Radio 2 also continues to attract more listeners than any other station, increasing its reach year on year to 13.4m listeners per week.
