Rajar Q4 2017: Digital

More than 3 in 5 adults (aged 15+) currently listen to radio via a digital platform, according to the latest Rajar results for the fourth quarter of 2017.
In total, 34 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 518 million hours; DAB has a 73% share of digital listening hours, digital TV 10% and online 17%.
The growth in commercial digital listening was boosted by strong audience growth across a number of stations including Radio X, which increased reach by 26% year on year to 1.58 million listeners; Kisstory, which increased by 22.3% to 1.71 million listeners; Kiss Fresh with grew 17.5% to 578,000 listeners; and Virgin Radio which grew 46% to 483,000 listeners.
Digital listening to BBC stations grew to 48.3% from 45.5% in Q4 2016, with BBC Radio 4 exceeding 50% digital listening for the first time at 50.7% and a new record audience for its sister station, BBC Radio 4 Extra, reaching 2.26 million listeners.
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% (no change on Q3).
26% of UK adults say they listen to radio via a mobile phone or a tablet device.
AM/FM | All Digital | - DAB | - DTV | - Online/Apps | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Platform Shares (%) | |||||
Q4 2016 | 54.8 | 45.2 | 32.9 | 4.9 | 7.4 |
Q1 2017 | 52.8 | 47.2 | 33.8 | 5.5 | 8.0 |
Q2 2017 | 51.3 | 48.7 | 34.5 | 5.4 | 8.8 |
Q3 2017 | 51.2 | 48.8 | 35.9 | 4.9 | 8.0 |
Q4 2017 | 50.1 | 49.9 | 36.3 | 5.1 | 8.5 |
Digital Listening Weekly Reach (%) | |||||
Q4 2016 | n/a | 57.9 | 44.4 | 14.3 | 18.3 |
Q1 2017 | n/a | 58.6 | 44.6 | 14.7 | 18.1 |
Q2 2017 | n/a | 61.2 | 47.5 | 14.7 | 19.6 |
Q3 2017 | n/a | 61.1 | 48.1 | 14.6 | 18.3 |
Q4 2017 | n/a | 61.7 | 49.2 | 14.1 | 18.9 |
Digital Listening Total Hours (m) | |||||
Q4 2016 | n/a | 474.0 | 345.0 | 51.0 | 78.0 |
Q1 2017 | n/a | 483.0 | 346.0 | 56.0 | 82.0 |
Q2 2017 | n/a | 503.0 | 357.0 | 56.0 | 91.0 |
Q3 2017 | n/a | 511.0 | 376.0 | 51.0 | 83.0 |
Q4 2017 | n/a | 518.0 | 377.0 | 53.0 | 88.0 |



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