RAJAR Data Release - Quarter 2, 2011: Number Tuning in to Radio Reaches New High

LONDON, August 4, 2011 -

- Number tuning in to radio reaches new high

• 91.7% of UK population tune in to radio every week  - new high ^[*]
• Total radio listening hours reach 1,076 million per week
• Listening via a digital receiver reaches 26.9% of all radio listening
• Access to a DAB receiver up 11.1% year on year to 20.2 million adults
• 7.5 million (14.4%) of adults listen via a digitally enabled TV, up 11% year on year
• Internet listening hours up by 15.4% year on year
• Mobile phone listening up 16.1% year on year

The number of people listening to radio reached a new high in Q2, 2011, as 47.6 million adults or 91.7% of the population (15+) tuned in to their favourite stations each week^{[† ]}, it was announced today by RAJAR Limited (Radio Joint Audience Research).[*]  This figure is up by over three-quarters of a million listeners (845,000 listeners) in comparison with the same period in 2010 and exceeds the previous high of 47.3 million last quarter (Q1, 2011).  The total number of radio listening hours has also increased year on year to 1,076 million hours per week or 22.6 hours per listener (c.f. 1,030 million hours in Q2, 2010 and 1,058 million hours in Q1, 2011).

Radio listening via digital platforms

Listening to radio via a digital platform in terms of weekly reach ^{[† ]} has increased by 10.7% year on year, with 22.1 million people now tuning in to radio via a digitally enabled receiver (DAB, DTV, internet) each week (up from 20 million in Q2, 2010). 

This increase is reflected in the digital listening hours for Q2, 2011 which are up 14.3%, from 253 million hours in Q2, 2010 to 289 million hours this quarter.  DAB radio continues to retain its position as the most popular device when it comes to listening to digital radio, accounting for 63.8% of all digital hours, however listening via DTV (digital television) and internet have both continued to rise year on year, (hours up by 23.7% and 15.4% respectively) albeit from a smaller base.

•  DAB hours are 185 million                (162m in Q2, 2010- up 13.6%)
•  DTV hours are 52 million                 (42m in Q2, 2010 - up 23.7%)
•  Internet hours are 34 million            (30m in Q2, 2010 - up 15.4%)

The share of radio listening via a digital platform accounts for more than one quarter of all radio listening increasing from 24.6% in Q2, 2010 to 26.9% in Q2, 2011, while remaining relatively stable quarter on quarter (c.f. 26.5% in Q1, 2011).  DAB listening increased its share from 15.8% in Q2, 2010 to 17.2% in Q2, 2011, while the share of DTV listening increased from 4.1% in Q2, 2010 to reach 4.8% this quarter; and internet listening, which broke the 3% barrier for the first time in Q4, 2010, currently stands at 3.2% for Q2, 2011.

Access to a DAB receiver

Access to a DAB receiver is up 11.1% year on year and is almost three times the level of five years ago.  In Q2, 2011 almost two in five of the population (38.9%), or 20.2 million adults (aged 15+) claimed to live in a household which has a DAB set (c.f. 18.2 million in Q2, 2010 and 7.6 million in Q2, 2006).

Radio listening via mobile phone

Radio listening via mobile phone has increased by 16.1% year on year with 14.5% of adults aged 15+ in Q2, 2011 saying they have listened in this way (c.f. 12.5% in Q2, 2010).  In the 25+ demographic 11.4% say they have listened to the radio via their mobile phone, up from 9.2% in Q2, 2010.  In the 15-24 demographic nearly a third or 31% of those surveyed now claim to have listened to the radio in this way with 14.8% stating they listen at least once a week and 3.3% stating they listen every day. 

Detailed data and individual radio station data, for both BBC and Commercial Radio stations, are available on the RAJAR web site at www.rajar.co.uk from 00.01hrs, Thursday August 4, 2011.

^[*]This is the highest weekly reach recorded since records began in 1992, irrespective of methodological changes in 1999 and 2007.
^[†]Weekly reach is the number of people (adults 15+) in the UK who listened to a radio station for at least five minutes in the course of an average week during the quarter.

For further information please contact: Penelope James,
Penelope James Public Relations, Tel: +44(0)1303-844555,
Mobile: +44(0)7860-162-231, E-mail: penelope at penelopejamespr.com