Audiences for 2 of the BBC’s flagship radio stations have dropped sharply for the reason that begin of the yr, new figures present.
Radio 5 Live and Radio 1 have seen their common weekly listeners drop by 13% and eight% respectively, with 5 Live shedding greater than three-quarters of 1,000,000 in six months.
Other stations have held regular, nonetheless, with the viewers for six Music climbing to a different report excessive.
Radio 5 Live shed 436,000 listeners between the primary and second quarter, the time interval between March and June 2022, numbers from analysis physique Rajar present.
A half-year comparability of figures signifies a fall of 763,000 for the station.
Radio 1 noticed a quarter-on-quarter drop of 201,000, whereas the half-year drop was 692,000.
The quarter-on-quarter fall for Radio 4, excluding 4 Extra, was 308,000 – whereas its half-year drop was 187,000.
However, Radio 2 and Radio 3 each held regular quarter-on-quarter.
Both the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James and Radio 2 Breakfast Show with Zoe Ball usually held regular throughout the identical time interval, with James’ present gaining 25,000 listeners to succeed in 4.14 million.
Aled Haydn Jones, head of BBC Radio 1, stated: “I’m so pleased to see an increase in listeners for Radio 1’s Breakfast Show with Greg James, as well as it remaining number one for our audience.
“It’s good to see the strategy we’ve developed at Radio 1 is working, indicating the strong connection the station has with young people across the UK on Radio, YouTube, iPlayer and socials.”
GB News radio, which launched in July 2021, noticed an quarter-on-quarter improve of 38,000, from a comparatively low base of 239,000 in March this yr.
Rajar has cautioned towards making comparisons with listening figures from earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic, attributable to a change in the best way it collects its information.
All figures was once compiled utilizing face-to-face market analysis, however this has now been changed with a mix of in-person surveys and information collected remotely through apps on smartphones and tablets.
The publication of outcomes from the following quarter will mark one yr for the reason that change, subsequently permitting year-on-year evaluation which gives perception into any long-terms shifts in listener behaviour.
Source: www.impartial.co.uk