Brexit helped UK radio draw big audiences in the second quarter, with BBC Radio 4’s current affairs show Today and news station LBC attracting record ratings.
Breakfast shows with a political bent did especially well in the three months to the end of June, with Today up by more than half a million to 7.3 million and LBC’s Nick Ferrari drawing almost 1 million.
Overall, Radio 4 hit its highest-ever audience of 11.5 million, up from 10.6 million last year, according to official Rajar figures published on Thursday.
LBC also saw record numbers of listeners tuning in during the second quarter, reaching 1.7 million across the UK and 1.3 million in London alone during a period when the capital was choosing a new mayor.
BBC Radio 4’s success was matched by 6 Music, which pulled in its highest ever 2.27 million listeners and the BBC Asian Network, which reported a record 676,000. Radio 3 drew an average audience of 2.2 million, its highest in more than five years and the biggest ever for the second quarter.
Helen Boaden, director of BBC radio, said: “BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 6 Music and the Asian Network are brilliant and unique. It’s fantastic that audiences across the country are finding these stations in record numbers to enjoy as part of their daily lives.
“The overall radio industry in the UK is in incredibly rude health. I’m delighted that in today’s digital world, audiences continue to appreciate the power of radio – its ability to provide daily companionship and entertainment, to share stories and to find and curate the best music with such a deep understanding of different audiences across the UK. Radio is a vital part of the UK’s media ecology and we should all celebrate that.”
However, Radio 1 continued to see its numbers slide, dropping almost half a million listeners to slip below 9.5 million. Nick Grimshaw’s breakfast show outperformed the rest of the station, losing just 2,000 listeners, but still recorded its lowest ever figure at just over 5.4 million following a huge dip in the previous three months.
Responding to the figures, Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper said: “To focus solely on [the] Rajars is similar to looking at how many newspapers have been sold without looking at their online presence or national influence.
“Rajar are only part of the picture for Radio 1 and our listeners should be seen alongside increases on our YouTube channel as it goes past one billion views and our growing social media platforms with over 8.5 million users.”
Chris Evans’s Radio 2 breakfast slot lost 300,000 listeners following a strong first quarter thought to have benefited from the beginning of his short-lived run as the new host of Top Gear.
Commercial radio had an excellent quarter, edging ahead of the BBCwith an average of just over 35.5m listeners a week.
Both LBC owner Global, which also runs the Heart and Classic FM stations, and Kiss and Absolute owner Bauer recorded record highs.
The total number of people tuning to UK radio at least once a week reached 48.7 million.
