#RAJAR UK: radio listening up, new low for AM/FM in world's most multiplatform market

By James Cridland for media.info
Posted 5 August 2015, 8.01pm edt

The latest RAJAR figures for the UK, released this morning, show radio listening is up slightly year-on-year. Weekly, 89.9% of UK adults tune into the radio, up from 89.8% a year ago. That's an extra 132,000 listeners; though the adult population of the UK has also increased by 73,000 people.

Time spent listening is also up. A UK radio listener tunes into radio 21.7 hours a week, up from 21.4 hours a year ago. That's 18 minutes more radio consumed every week.

Yet, AM/FM consumption continues to fall. Across the UK, it now accounts for 53.7% of total radio listening: down from 56.6% a year ago. This is the lowest figure ever seen for analogue radio. It falls consistently every quarter.

The share of listening on DAB Digital Radio, broadcast over the air to radio receivers, has increased from 24.1% up to 26.7%.

37.8% of UK - 20.2m people - now listen to DAB over any given week. They use DAB for an average of 13.8 hours per week.

Listening over the internet or through apps has risen slightly (now 6.4%, rather than 6.2%), but online is now a lower share of total digital radio listening.

16% - 8.5m people - tune into radio over the internet or apps. They listen for less time, too: for an average of 7.8 hours per week.

Many people point to "the future" for live, simulcast radio as being streamed online. Yet online is growing slower than DAB, and people use it less. It's also worthwhile remembering that this is not at the expense of radio listening overall. Radio is as popular as ever; but the internet is not playing the part many people believe it to.