RAJAR Q3, 2011 - 90.7% of UK Population Tune in to Radio Every Week

LONDON, October 27, 2011 -

• 90.7% of UK Population Tune in to Radio Every Week
• Total listening hours up 2% year on year
• Listening via a digital receiver reaches 28.2% of all radio listening
• Digital listening hours break through 300 million mark for first time
• Internet listening hours up 15.4% quarter on quarter
• Access via a mobile phone up 24.2% year on year

90.7% of the population (47.1 million adults 15+*), listened to radio during the third quarter of 2011, it was announced today by RAJAR Limited (Radio Joint Audience Research).

This figure is up on the same period a year ago by just over a third of a million listeners (375,000 listeners) but down on the previous high of 47.6 million last quarter^** (Q2, 2011).

The total number of radio listening hours has also increased year on year to 1,076 million hours per week or 22.8 hours per listener and has remained stable quarter on quarter (c.f. 1,055 million hours in Q3, 2010 and 1,076 million hours in Q2, 2011).

In addition, listening hours via a digitally enabled receiver has broken through the 300 million mark for the first time to reach 304 million listening hours per week.

Radio listening via digital platforms

Listening to radio via a digital platform in terms of weekly reach* has increased by 12% year on year, with 22.8 million people now tuning in to radio via a digitally enabled receiver (DAB, DTV, internet) each week (up from 20.4 million in Q3, 2010).

Digital listening hours for Q3, 2011 reached 304 million hours, up 16%, from 262 million hours in Q3, 2010.
DAB radio maintains its position as the most popular device when it comes to listening to digital radio, accounting for 63.9% of all digital hours, however listening via DTV (digital television) and internet have both continued to rise year on year (hours up by 8% and 32% respectively), albeit from a smaller base.

• DAB hours are 194 million (162m in Q3, 2010 - up 20%)
• DTV hours are 50 million (47m in Q3, 2010 - up 8%)
• Internet hours are 40 million (30m in Q3, 2010 - up 32%)

The share of radio listening via a digital platform now stands at 28.2% of all radio listening, increasing from 24.8% in Q3, 2010 and up quarter on quarter by 5% (c.f. 26.9% in Q2, 2011).
DAB listening increased its share from 15.3% in Q3, 2010 to 18% in Q3, 2011, while the share of DTV listening increased from 4.4% in Q3, 2010 to reach 4.7% this quarter; and internet listening, which currently stands at 3.7% for Q3, 2011, is up from 2.8% in Q3, 2010.

Access to a DAB receiver

Access to a DAB receiver is up 12% on Q3, 2010 with almost two in five of the population (39.4%), or 20.5 million adults (aged 15+), claiming to live in a household which has a DAB set (c.f. 18.3 million in Q3, 2010.)

Radio listening via mobile phone

RAJAR data released today also reveals that 15.8% of adults aged 15+ listened to the radio via mobile phone in Q3, 2011, up 24.2% year on year (c.f. 12.8% in Q3, 2010).
In the 25+ demographic 12.7% say they have listened to the radio via their mobile phone, up from 9.4% in Q3, 2010.
In the 15-24 demographic nearly a third or 32.4% of those surveyed now claim to have listened to the radio in this way with 15.2% stating they listen at least once a week and 3.1% 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 October 27, 2011.

* - 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.

** - This is the highest weekly reach recorded since records began in 1992, irrespective of methodological changes in 1999 and 2007.

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