Rajar Q3 2017: Digital

More than 6 in 10 adults (aged 15+) currently listen to radio via a digital platform, according to the latest Rajar results for the third quarter of 2017.

In total, 33 million people now tune in to radio via a digitally enabled receiver – DAB, digital TV or online – each week.

In an average week, digital listening accounts for 511 million hours; DAB has a 74% share of digital listening hours, digital TV 10% and online 16%.

In car digital listening exceeded 30% for the first time to reach a new record share of 30.9%. Digital listening in cars has contributed to 40.6% of all digital listening hourly growth.

In terms of online social interaction, a consistent 42% of 15-24 year old social media users claim to receive updates about their favourite radio station or presenter, with the figure slightly lower for the general adult population at 31%.

28% of UK adults say they listen to radio via a mobile phone or a tablet device, while 8.7 million adults keep things to themselves and only listen with earphones.

The most popular digital-only station is BBC 6 Music which recorded a weekly reach of 2.43 million listeners, followed by BBC Radio 4 Extra with a weekly reach of 2.15 million listeners – both record high figures.

Meanwhile, Kisstory is the most popular commercial digital-only station, with a record reach of 1.82 million listeners, with Absolute 80s taking the second spot with 1.53 million listeners.