Radio 1 Loses More Listeners

Radio 1 has lost another million listeners in the last 3 months, destroying Liz Forgan’s claims that the station’s decline would have slowed up by the autumn. Radio 1 now has a weekly reach of 11,197,000 (24%), compared to 15,743,000 (34%) a year ago. In defence of this continued loss the BBC points to Radio 1’s loss of its medium wave frequency during this period.

Radio 2 and 3 have also lost listeners over the past year, while Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live have bucked the BBC’s trend with slight increases. Radio 4’s audience has grown from 8,210,000 (18%) to 8,430,000 (18%) while 5 Live’s audience of 4,405,000 (9%), compares to the 4,043,000 listeners the old style Radio 5 had a year ago. Radio 1’s share of listening has fallen from 19.6% to 11.8% over the past year, while Radio 2, 4 and 5 Live have all increased their share slightly.

BBC local and regional radio has also lost listeners, with their audience falling from 9,790,000 (21%) to 9,475,000 (20%).