BBC Sees Record Listening For Online Radio

The BBC has reported a record month of online radio listening for March, with more than 20 million hours of content served through its systems during the month.

The Corporation recorded 12 million on demand requests over the course of the month, which it claims demonstrates the “enduring popularity” of radio streaming.

BBC Radio 1 was the most requested radio content, streaming four million hours of live listening and over 87 million page impressions to a record 3.5 million unique users.

The station’s success is attributed in part to the regular “Laura’s Diary” feature on the Scott Mills show, a segment dedicated to the troubled love-life of a girl named Laura which spawned spin off elements, such as One Night with Laura, and generated 11.8 million page impressions.

BBC Radio 2 also saw success online, serving up three million live listening hours and more than a million on demand listening hours in March. Elsewhere, BBC Five Live Sports Extra provided coverage of the India v England Test Series, contributing a further 500,000 live listening hours to the BBC’s total.

Live streaming was not the only medium to see success however, with the BBC’s podcast content being downloaded 2.8 million times in March, marking an increase of more than one million on the previous month. The Today programme’s 8.10 Interview podcast was the most popular, notching up 474,357 downloads.

Chris Moyles remains the most popular weekly podcast, with 441,832 downloads, while In Our Time, the Corporation’s first ever podcast, exhibited long lasting appeal with 255,878 downloads over the month.

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk