RAJAR Q4 2010: Digital

Digital radio put in a strong performance once again this quarter, posting substantial increases in weekly reach, listening hours and DAB set ownership.

Digital radio has enjoyed an impressive boost this year, with 20.9 million people now tuning in to radio via a digital receiver each week – up from 17.1 million in Q4 2009.

This is also reflected in the number of hours people are listening to digital radio, which are up 26.9% YoY to 262 million hours.

DAB sets are still the most popular device for listening to digital radio, accounting for 63.2% of all digital hours. However, listening via DTV (digital television) and the internet have both continued to rise, albeit from a smaller base, with share of internet listening breaking through the 3% barrier for the first time.

Share of radio listening via a digital platform is also up to 25%, accounting for one quarter of all radio listening, which is good news for the digital switchover.

Positively, access to a DAB receiver is up 7.9% YoY. Over one third of the population (18.5 million adults aged 15+) now claim to live in a household with a DAB receiver.

Listening via a mobile phone is also growing in popularity, up 4.1% QoQ. 13.3% of adults aged 15+ listened to the radio via their mobile handset in the winter months. Unsurprisingly, mobile listening is most popular with people aged between 15-24 years. This demographic tuned in the most in Q4 (30.7%), with some saying they listen at least once a week and a number saying they listen every day.

MediaTel has PowerPoint presentations available to download, featuring pre-prepared market breakdown graphs for the RAJAR data release – click here.