A summer of sport, politics and BBC Proms brings the UK together on BBC Radio and BBC Sounds

According to RAJARs for Q3 2024 (24/6 – 15/9), 32.6 million people listened to the BBC’s unrivaled programming across this summer’s major events, from the Paris Olympics and Euro 2024 to the Election Generals and an ambitious BBC Proms season.

On its 30th anniversary, BBC Radio 5 Live has achieved its biggest audience in a decade with its unique mix of the biggest news and sporting events, all brought to the public with expert analysis and commentary, with 6 million tune-ins each week. BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra was listened to by 1.8 million people during the same period. It was also a strong quarter for BBC Radio 4, the most listened to radio station in the UK, reaching 9.7 million people with its revamped programming and its agenda-setting news programme, Today, with 6 million listeners (Monday to Saturday).

With its new programming and an ambitious season of BBC Proms, Radio 3 delighted more than 2 million people and clocked up a record number of hours listening to the station: the most in Radio 3’s history. Broadcasts of all 90 Proms , from the Berlin Philharmonic and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to the BBC’s own ensembles, thrilled listeners with eight weeks of world-class music production, live from the Royal Albert Hall and in venues across the UK. Overall, Radio 3 also recorded its highest number of average hours per listener – and the station’s new programming, introduced from April, saw significant year-on-year gains for Saturday Morning with Tom Service, the new Early…, Breakfast , by Jools Holland, Essential classics and in tune.

On BBC Sounds, there were over 622 million plays across all radio content, podcasts and music mixes this quarter (July to September 2024). This represents an increase of 14 million plays over the previous quarter and an increase of over 3% over the same period last year, as digital listening continues to grow.

The busiest week of the quarter (8 July) saw BBC Sounds users peak at 4.9 million, as listeners closely followed developments in the change of government following the UK general election. Furthermore, it was an important week for sport, with preparations for the UEFA Euro 2024 men’s final, where Spain defeated England 2-1, and the Wimbledon tennis final.

On BBC Sounds, BBC Proms listeners are up 12% on last year. The Proms also struck a chord with younger audiences – placing in the top 10 most listened to on-demand programs of the quarter for under-35s.

Charlotte Moore, director of content at the BBC, says: “Congratulations to the 5 Live team, who on their 30th anniversary achieved the station’s biggest audience for a decade. Listeners loved tuning in to 5 Live’s unrivaled news and sport offering, bringing them all the action as it unfolded.

“Our stations continue to be hugely important to our listeners and I’m delighted that, in big national moments, people come to the BBC. We had a record-breaking BBC Proms season and a summer packed with news and sport, and our commentary and programming was unrivaled in terms of ambition and scale. I am very proud of our teams who have refreshed programming and continued to innovate, bringing high-quality, differentiated content to audiences across our speech and music stations and BBC Sounds.”

Rajars – third quarter of 2024

The BBC had a 44.5% share of all radio listening in the UK, with 32.6 million listeners.

BBC Radio 1 had 8.6 million listeners aged 10+ and Radio 1’s Breakfast Show with Greg James (Monday to Friday) had 4.6 million listeners aged 10+.

BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s biggest radio station with 13.3 million listeners, and The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show is the UK’s biggest breakfast program with 6.3 million listeners. Vernon Kay’s breakfast radio show remains the nation’s favorite, growing in the quarter to 6.8 million listeners.

BBC Radio 3 had 2 million listeners and its breakfast program had an audience of 866,000.

BBC Radio 4 had 9.7 million listeners, with 6 million tuning in to the Today program (Monday to Saturday).

BBC Radio 5 Live achieved a reach of 6 million listeners.

BBC Radio 1Xtra had 804,000 listeners, BBC Radio 4 Extra had 1.5 million, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra had 1,800 and the BBC Asian Network had 609,000.

BBC Radio 6 Music reached 2.7 million listeners and remains the largest digital-only music radio station in the UK.

The BBC World Service was heard by 1.1 million people, and BBC Nations radio and BBC Local Radio in England had a combined audience of 6.8 million.

The figures also reveal how overall podcast listening is at an all-time high – 12.6 million (22% of the UK adult population), as is overall live radio listening, with 50.9 million people tuning in BBC radio stations as well as commercial radio.

BBC Sounds – Q3 2024

In Q3 2024, there were 10.8 million BBC Sounds accounts connected, with a weekly average of 4.7 million users across mobile apps, websites, TV and voice-activated devices. Data shows there were a total of 226 million plays of on-demand radio and podcast content.

Interest in news was understandably high this quarter and Newscast and Americast were BBC Sounds’ top two podcasts. The curated breaking news playlist also performed well among younger listeners, with BBC News’ Latest Headlines being the seventh most listened to on-demand program among listeners under 35, also driven by speaker requests intelligent.

Once again, Radio 4 content dominated the BBC Sounds podcast chart, demonstrating the quality of the network’s titles. New star-studded audio drama Central Intelligence boosted listeners of drama podcast Limelight, making it the third most popular podcast of the quarter, followed by You’re Dead to Me and Radio 4’s investigative podcast strand Intrigue, which was recently honored with prestigious Prix Italia and Prix Europa Awards for To Catch a Scorpion.

Last month, BBC podcasts scooped 29 awards at the British Podcast Awards – 11 of them gold – spanning a range of genres, from Current Affairs to True Crime and everything in between.

In BBC Sounds Q3:

• Newscast and Americast were the two most listened to podcasts on BBC Sounds, with Newscast also taking the top spot for listeners under 35, followed by You’re Dead to Me and Miss Me?
• Radio 4’s Limelight drama strand was the third most listened to podcast, with series including Central Intelligence with Kim Cattrall and 11 Minutes Dead.
• Radio 4’s The Archers remains the most listened to on-demand radio show by all adults again this quarter (including under 35s), followed by Whodunnits on Radio 4 Extra and the ever-popular Desert Island Discs.
• Radio 4 comedy performed well with Mark Steel’s in Town, The Unbelievable Truth and The News Quiz all appearing in the top 10 on-demand radio shows.
• Radio 1’s programming continues to be a hit with younger listeners and had the highest percentage of listeners under 35. Programs such as Radio 1 10’s and Radio 1 00’s proved to be the most popular, followed by Radio 1’s Giant Detention, which featured Greg James and his fellow presenter. ‘colleagues’ imprisoned in detention to mark the return of the academic year in a fun way.
• BBC Proms was also ranked in the top 10 on-demand programs for the under 35s, driven by special shows from Florence + the Machine and Sam Smith. Overall, there was a 12% year-on-year increase for Proms listeners on BBC Sounds.
• The musical mixes provided relaxation and also motivation. Listeners consistently turned to BBC Sounds to help them fall asleep, as The Sleeping Forecast continued to be the most listened to music mix, followed by the Mindful Mix. Nostalgia fans tuned in to Sounds of the 90s with Fearne Cotton, which was third most popular, followed by the Pace Setter playlist with highlights including motivational songs curated by McFly drummer Harry Judd.
• At the end of August, Oasis-mania swept the UK when the band announced their reunion tour, and The Rise and Fall of… from 6 Music made an appearance in the Top 10 On-Demand Podcasts as Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq investigated into the story behind the band.
• There were a total of 213 million downloads of BBC podcasts worldwide this quarter, an increase of 4 million on the second quarter. Given the BBC’s world-class reputation in news, it’s no surprise that the BBC World Service’s Global News Podcast was the most popular title on third-party platforms, followed by Newscast and The Documentary Podcast. Other popular shows in the top ten include 6 Minute English, In Our Time and Desert Island Discs.

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