The RAJAR Q1 2018 audience figures has reported a growth in digital listeners, with 50% of listening done via digital platforms (including DAB, digital TV, and online).
A number of digital only stations have increased in popularity:
- Heart 80s now reaches 1.4 million listeners, but Absolute Radio 80s (with a smaller coverage area) remains the UK’s most popular 80s radio stations with 1.5 million listeners.
- Union Jack now has 114,000 listeners, up from 71,000 year on year.
- Virgin Radio, whilst loosing some listeners, has increased listening hours, meaning its listeners are listening to the station for longer.
- Kisstory, Jazz FM, Smooth Extra, and some other digital only stations have also gained more listeners.
Meanwhile, most BBC national station have remained mostly static, but the Heart network (including Heart 80s, and the Heart Extra national service) now has more listeners than BBC Radio 1.
Editors comments: I’ve actually went the opposite way, switching back to analogue methods, as the poor quality mono sound that most DAB stations provide is not satisfactory. DAB+, whilst stereo, gives even poorer sound quality to the point that listening to some DAB+ stations actually gives me headaches. Forces Radio BFBS (using 24kbps stereo) offers very poor sound quality.
I have now switched back to my local BBC station, BBC Newcastle. Following transmitter changes, I no longer have access to Rathergood Radio on FM, but I still listen to this station via Radio Player.