RAJARs round-up: Nick Grimshaw takes Radio 1's Breakfast Show audience to lowest level in a decade

Commercial radio will also be more than happy with the recent RAJAR figures as it has seen quarter-on-quarter increases for all national commercial radio (16.4m) and all local commercial radio (26.5m), with national commercial radio increasing its weekly reach by 276,000.

The rise of digital listening is evident yet again. 34 per cent of all radio hours are now consumed via a digital platform and in terms of reach now half the UK population tune in digitally every week – this is an 11 per cent increase on this time last year.

What is particularly interesting is that digital listening via online/apps is increasing at nearly double the rate of other digital platforms.

Global radio recently invested heavily in this space to capitalise on this trend and their current 8m app user base. The increase of digital listening, particularly online and on mobile, means that radio’s role in driving online response is as important as ever.

As radio brands grow their audiences in the digital world and increase their multi-platform offering it is now imperative that RAJAR figures are not considered in isolation and should always be looked at alongside audience figures from other channels.

Overall brand reach and how we can engage audiences across various touch points is imperative going forward. You can find a simplistic overview here.

Outside of commercial radio BBC Radio 2 remains their top station, seeing a 4.9 per cent increase Y on Y, with BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and 6 Music also seeing increases.

However Nick Grimshaw has lost nearly a million listeners since taking over from Chris Moyles with the audience at its lowest level for a decade. BBC Radio 1 has a two year plan and it will be interesting to see whether they really can make Radio 1 relevant for a younger generation.

This news will probably overshadow the Rajars.

However with a view to growing radio/brand audiences maybe Radio 1's approach of engaging a core audience across numerous platforms is the right one.

Digital listening is the future and this is ultimately where we will see growth, and whilst there have been a number of strong digital initiatives in the past 12 months there are still huge opportunities in this space.

Agile stations who have a strong social and digital presence such as Absolute (especially with their experience of launching Instream), TalkSport and Kiss have a really opportunity to grow in this space going forward.

How they all did

Global Radio's Heart Network and Capital Network are slightly down Y-on-Y, -3.4% and -1.6% respectively, however Capital Network saw a slight Q-on-Q increase in reach of 1.4 per cent. Global might be concerned with these results but the continuous increase in touch points across radio brands (TV, Digital, Mobile, and Social) mean that the RAJAR figure isn’t the only number we should consider. Off the back of its Sony radio award for best UK radio brand Classic FM also performed well gaining 214,000 extra listeners.

As a group Bauer Radio delivered its highest ever reach of 13.7 million listeners which was as a result of Planet Rocks strong performance and inclusion. In addition Bauer’s Passion Portfolio has delivered its highest-ever reach that stands at 6.7m, as well as improving hours and share.

Capital FM will be celebrating as it has taken over the number one spot in London reaching 1.95m listeners, but the commercial radio station with the biggest share in London is Magic 105.4 with 5.6 per cent. Dave Berry and Lisa Snowdon still host the largest breakfast show in the capital achieving over 1 million listeners each day!

The Absolute Radio Network is up 9.2 per cent Y-on-Y and continues to grow due to its digital stations and the award winning Christian O’Connell breakfast show.

TalkSport’s reach has dropped but it still delivers strong hours increasing 5 per cent Q-on-Q, and Jazz FM will be pleased with their record hours up 36 per cent year on year.