Rajar Q3 2019: Digital

Digital radio has seen a 4.4 percentage point increase in its share of overall radio listening from Q3 2018 to Q3 2019, now claiming a record 56.8% share.

36 million adults continue to listen to radio via a digitally enabled platform (DAB, digital TVs, online and apps), with overall digital listening up 24.1 million hours or 5% year-on-year to 562 million hours in an average week.

Of those hours, DAB now takes a 70% share (and a 39.7% share of all radio listening) after growing 0.5% YoY, while listening via digital TV dropped -15% YoY to now account for 4.2% of all listening and 7% of digital listening.

Meanwhile, share of listening via connected devices (online and via apps) was up 35.4% YoY to 13%, as 28% of adults now claim to own a voice activated speaker.

Listening via connected devices at home was the fastest growing platform and location for the second consecutive quarter, increasing by 22.5 million hours over the year.

Elsewhere, digital listening now accounts for 42.2% of in car listening – a new record – following a 17.4% increase YoY.

The majority of in car growth was via DAB listening, with 93% of new cars now fitted with DAB radios, though listening online and via app in car is also growing and now reaches 2 million listeners.

Furthermore, KISSTORY, Absolute 80s and Heart 80s – the three most-popular commercial national digital-only stations – all hit record audiences, with KISSTORY leading the pack with 2.6 million listeners, an 18.4% increase YoY.

BBC 6 Music follows KISSTORY with a reach of 2.4 million listeners, while BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra grew 31.3% to 2.2 million listeners, now the third most-popular digital station.