Rajar results Q4 2025 commentary

Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This is our quarterly bonus podcast where we chat about Rajar’s latest results. For those of you who aren’t aware of Rajar - it was established in 1992 and operates the single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United KingdomRaja publishes the listenership figures each quarter, which is good for insight for PR, curious about how the public engages with radio and how the market is performing.On the show today, we have James Dickman, newsroom producer at Markettiers, who will discuss the latest Rajar results for Q4 2025. Here's a summary of this quarter's Rajar results highlights:Radio stayed a mass-reach medium in Q4 2025, with 50.0m adults tuning in weekly (86% of the UK 15+ population) and 1.015bn hours listened per week.Digital listening now dominates delivery. 44m adults used a digital route each week (75% of adults), and digital accounted for 75% of all listening hours. Online listening made up 30% of total hours, reflecting continued growth in app/streaming and connected devices.Within digital, DAB remained the biggest platform. RAJAR reported 757m weekly digital hours in total, split mainly across DAB (427m), smart speakers (188m), and website/apps (115m), with DTV (28m) also contributing.Listening continues to be anchored in everyday settings. Weekly listening is strongest at home (60%) and in vehicles (58%), and by share of hours it’s 62% in-home, 26% in-vehicle, and 12% at work/elsewhere—useful context for daypart and placement planning.Commercial radio led the market overall, with 55.2% share of listening versus 42.8% for BBC Radio in the quarter’s top-line results.Smart speakers are now a mainstream listening route: 64% of smart-speaker users use them for radio, and 21% listen to radio on a smart speaker every day. RAJAR also noted broader audio habits, with 38% listening to podcasts monthly and 19% using catch-up radio monthly.