New Technology Fails to Increase Radio Audience

Ownership of a DAB digital radio in the UK has more than doubled in the past year, according to RAJAR. Its latest figures also show increases in radio listening via mobile phones, digital TV, and the Internet - although these new methods have had little impact of the overall number of radio listeners.

RAJAR's figures for the third quarter of this year include the audiences for national and local radio stations. Overall radio reach (adults listening to at least five minutes a week) has dropped by 0.5% over the last quarter, although figures are 1.4% up on this time last year. The number of hours of radio listening has increased very slightly - by around 0.45% since September 2004.

DAB ownership and listening
Home ownership of digital radio sets rose to 10.5% in September 2005 - compared with 4.5% a year ago and 3.9% just eighteen months ago. The number of adults listening to digital-only radio services has risen to 4.1 million listeners a week, up from 3.2 million a year ago and 3 million two years ago.

Digital TV
The number of adults who have ever tuned in to the radio via digital TV has risen to 35.1%, an increase of 23% from last year and 72% since September 2003. The percentage of listeners who tune in at least once a week now stands at 19.9%, up 59% since September 2003.

Mobile phones
6.1% of adults have listened to the radio via their mobile phones, an increase of around two thirds from two years ago when the figure stood at 3.7%.

Internet
Almost one in five (19.7%) of adults have listened to the radio via the Internet - an increase of around a third since 2003, when the figure stood at 14.4%.

Full data for radio station's audience figures is online at www.rajar.co.uk.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.