Rajar’s results for Q1 2024: A record quarter for radio in the UK

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 Kingdom.It publishes the listenership figures for UK radio each quarter. This offers PR people really interesting insight into how the UK public engages with this important channel.On the show today, we have Alex Blakemore, daily newsroom editor at Markettiers, who will discuss the latest Rajar results for Q1 2024.If you’re listening to this podcast and you’re a senior member of a PR agency team, our subscription training service, PRmoment Leaders, was built for you. It features a new educational syllabus that will help develop and retain your senior team members while preparing them to lead your business and drive future growth.Containing 11 learning and networking elements, the PRmoment Leaders subscription package has been designed to flex around busy teams and individual learning stylesAlso, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here is a summary of what Alex and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discuss:1.30 mins Alex summarises the key insights for this latest quarter of Rajar's results“It’s really exciting and shows just how much opportunity there is within radio for people within PR.”“50 million people listen to radio each week, or 89% of the population. This beats all previous records.”4.30 mins Alex reflects on what is likely to be behind the increase in radio listening numbers.“We’ve got a summer of sport coming up, so this could be just the start of an upturn for radio.”9 mins Alex discusses the ongoing radio battle between commercial radio and the BBC.“Commercial radio has its highest-ever audience reach at 39.6 million listeners.”12 mins Alex gives some advice for PRs who are planning their summer campaigns on how to engage with radio.Key radio stats:Radio Reach – Weekly: 50m (49,947,000) Radio Hours – Weekly 20.5 (no change) TV Hours – Weekly (Barb April 2024) 18.6 BBC Share of Radio Listening: 43%BBC vs Commercial Reach – WeeklyBBC – 31.3mCommercial – 39.6m Commercial Stations on the RisetalkSPORT UP from 3,081,000 to 3,390,000talkRADIO UP from 725,000 to 757,000LBC News UP from 810,000 to 990,000LBC UP from 2,467,000 to 2,547,000Times Radio UP from 492,000 to 503,000GB News Radio UP from 430,000 to 455,000Greatest Hits Radio UP from 6,753,000 to 7,687,000Heart UP from 8,838,000 to 9,442,000Capital UP from 5,871,000 to 6,243,000 BBC Stations on the RiseBBC Asian Network UP from 448,000 to 542,000BBC Radio 4 UP from 9,116,000 to 9,204,000BBC World Service (UK Reach) UP from 1,072,000 to 1,225,000