The latest RAJAR figures, published on 14 May 2026, reveal an industry that continues to command enormous audiences while embracing new technology and changing listening habits. With commercial radio maintaining its lead over the BBC, digital listening reaching new heights and specialist stations finding fresh audiences, there's plenty to be optimistic about.
Radio remains one of Britain's great success stories
Every few years, someone predicts the demise of radio. First it was television, then the internet, followed by music streaming, podcasts and an apparently endless supply of digital entertainment.
Yet here we are in 2026, and radio continues to reach 50.6 million people every week, representing an extraordinary 87% of the UK adult population.
That's approximately 600,000 more listeners than a year ago.
Perhaps even more remarkably, those listeners collectively consume over one billion hours of radio every week. The average listener spends almost 20 hours a week with the medium.
For an industry supposedly facing an existential threat from changing media habits, that's a rather impressive performance.
Commercial radio remains central to this success, attracting 39.3 million weekly listeners and accounting for the majority of all radio listening hours.
And while there are some interesting shifts beneath the headline figures, the overall message is encouraging: radio is maintaining its relevance while successfully embracing an increasingly digital future.
Commercial radio retains a commanding lead
Commercial radio's position within the UK audio landscape remains formidable.
With 39.3 million weekly listeners, commercial broadcasters reach almost eight million more people than BBC radio, which attracts 31.4 million.
Commercial stations also command 54.3% of all radio listening hours, compared with the BBC's 43.4%.
That's a substantial advantage.
Collectively, commercial broadcasters deliver approximately 547 million listening hours every week. Put another way, that's more than 78 million hours of engagement every single day.
The average commercial listener spends 13.9 hours a week tuning in.
There are some qualifications. Commercial radio's reach declined 1.5% year-on-year, while listening hours fell 2.9%.
These movements deserve attention, although they hardly diminish the extraordinary scale of the audience.
For broadcasters and advertisers alike, the underlying proposition remains exceptionally strong. Commercial radio reaches approximately two-thirds of UK adults, with listeners returning regularly throughout the week.
Few advertising-supported media can claim anything approaching that combination of reach and habitual engagement.
Digital listening is transforming the industry
If there's one development that should excite commercial broadcasters, it's the continued migration towards digital listening.
Digital platforms now account for 80.9% of commercial radio listening hours, up from 78.6% a year earlier.
That's a significant milestone. Four out of every five hours spent listening to commercial radio are now delivered through digital platforms.
DAB remains the largest individual platform, accounting for 46.1% of commercial listening hours, compared with 44.1% a year ago.
Meanwhile, online listening through websites, apps and smart speakers has increased to 32.9%.
Across the whole radio industry, online listening has reached a record 30.4% of total listening hours, comfortably ahead of traditional AM/FM at 24%.
The implications are fascinating.
Radio has successfully established itself across the devices and platforms people increasingly use throughout their daily lives.
And for commercial broadcasters, this evolution creates opportunities to develop new services, improve audience understanding and introduce more sophisticated advertising capabilities.
Radio's digital transformation is well underway, and the commercial sector is leading it.
Smart speakers have become a serious listening platform
One of the most striking developments in recent years has been the growing importance of smart speakers.
Across all UK radio, smart speakers now account for 18.8% of listening hours, up from 17.6% a year earlier.
For commercial radio, that figure rises to 21.8%.
In other words, more than one in five commercial radio listening hours now takes place through a smart speaker.
That's remarkable considering these devices were barely part of everyday household life a decade ago.
Voice-activated listening has made accessing favourite stations wonderfully simple. Whether cooking dinner, working from home or relaxing at the weekend, listeners can summon their favourite radio station without touching a button.
Perhaps the more interesting development is what this means commercially.
Connected listening provides opportunities for broadcasters to develop advertising experiences that combine the familiarity of radio with the targeting and measurement capabilities associated with digital media.
It's an increasingly attractive combination.
Younger audiences remain firmly engaged
Another encouraging finding concerns younger listeners.
Commercial radio reaches 18.2 million people aged 15–44 every week, equivalent to 67% of this demographic.
More importantly, commercial broadcasters account for 66.6% of all radio listening hours among these listeners.
The BBC's equivalent share is 30.8%.
That's a commanding position within an age group frequently assumed to have abandoned radio for streaming services and social platforms.
Interestingly, commercial radio also reaches 70% of adults aged 25–44, a particularly attractive demographic for many advertisers.
Within this group are millions of people navigating careers, raising families, moving homes and making significant purchasing decisions.
Radio remains part of their everyday routines.
The challenge is to maintain that relationship as listening habits evolve. But commercial radio's existing reach provides an excellent foundation for developing new formats, services and connected listening experiences.
Big brands, big audiences and some impressive winners
The latest figures also reveal some notable individual success stories.
Global remains the UK's largest commercial radio group, reaching approximately 29 million listeners across its portfolio and delivering 279 million listening hours each week.
Heart continues as the UK's biggest commercial radio brand with 12.5 million listeners, while Capital reaches 8.8 million and Smooth attracts more than 7.3 million.
Heart Breakfast, presented by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, gained another 172,000 listeners during the quarter, reaching 4.3 million.
Capital Breakfast, with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Siân Welby, attracts 2.8 million listeners, with growth in reach, hours and share.
Commercial speech radio is also enjoying considerable success.
LBC has achieved its largest-ever brand audience, reaching 3.6 million listeners, an increase of approximately 6% year-on-year.
The success of speech radio is particularly interesting in an era of information overload. Audiences clearly continue to value recognisable personalities, live discussion and thoughtful commentary.
It's a reminder that radio's greatest asset may still be its ability to create a genuine connection between presenters and listeners.
Specialist stations are finding their audiences
Some of the most interesting growth is happening away from the largest mainstream stations.
Bauer's refreshed KISS station increased its audience by more than 15% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 1.5 million listeners.
The KISS Breakfast show, featuring Tyler West and Chloe Burrows, grew 12% following its relaunch.
Elsewhere, Planet Rock increased its audience by 7.8% year-on-year to 1.1 million listeners, while Kerrang! Radio grew an impressive 25% to 569,000.
Absolute Radio 00s increased its weekly audience by 15%, while Greatest Hits Radio's specialist decade stations collectively attract 1.3 million listeners.
These figures highlight a particularly exciting opportunity.
Digital distribution allows broadcasters to develop stations around increasingly specific musical tastes, interests and listener communities.
For audiences, this means greater choice. For broadcasters, it creates opportunities to build distinctive brands around shared interests.
And for advertisers, these specialist services offer potentially valuable ways of reaching audiences whose preferences align with their products and services.
National scale and local relevance
National commercial radio continues to demonstrate its strength, reaching 27.9 million listeners and delivering approximately 287 million listening hours every week.
National commercial listening hours have grown around 3% year-on-year, despite a modest decline in audience reach.
Local commercial radio remains enormously relevant, reaching 25.4 million people and generating over 260 million listening hours weekly.
Although local listening has faced some pressure, the continuing scale demonstrates the importance of regional broadcasting.
For businesses seeking to reach customers within specific towns, cities or regions, local radio remains an attractive option.
The opportunity for the industry is to combine the reach and efficiency of national broadcasting with the relationships and geographical relevance of local services.
What does all this mean for advertisers?
Perhaps the most important conclusion from these RAJAR figures is what they reveal about commercial radio's evolving advertising proposition.
First, the sheer scale remains extraordinary. With almost 40 million weekly listeners, commercial radio offers advertisers the opportunity to build substantial reach and brand familiarity through repeated exposure.
Second, radio is becoming increasingly addressable. As more listening moves onto connected platforms, broadcasters can develop more sophisticated audience targeting, geographical segmentation and campaign measurement capabilities.
Third, advertisers have greater choice. National networks provide broad reach, local stations offer geographical relevance, and specialist digital services create opportunities to connect with particular interests and audiences.
And finally, radio occupies a distinctive place in consumers' lives.
It's present during the commute, throughout the working day and within the home. It accompanies people while they're doing other things, creating repeated opportunities for brands to become familiar and memorable.
Radiocentre CEO Matt Payton captured the industry's opportunity in his response to the results, highlighting commercial radio's ability to combine enormous reach with enhanced targeting in a trusted environment.
That feels like the real story emerging from Q1 2026.
For advertisers already investing in radio, there's a growing opportunity to combine traditional broadcast campaigns with connected digital audio.
For businesses that haven't considered radio recently, perhaps it's time to take another look.
The audience is certainly there.
And with digital innovation continuing to expand what's possible, commercial radio's next chapter could prove every bit as exciting as its last.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the independent analysis, views and opinions of adserve, based on publicly available RAJAR audience data and industry commentary. The interpretations and conclusions expressed are entirely our own and should not be taken to represent the views, opinions or endorsements of RAJAR, Radiocentre, individual broadcasters, radio stations or the wider radio industry. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, readers are encouraged to refer to the official RAJAR publications for definitive audience figures.
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