A recent study from Rajar has revealed that analog listening accounts for just 50.4% of all radio listening in the United Kingdom. This is a more than 10% decline from what it was during the same time last year, when analog attributed 56.4% of all radio listening.
While analog continues to decrease, listening on digital platforms (DAB, digital TV and the Internet) keeps rising in popularity, finds the report. Currently, 41.9% of all radio listening is digital.
“The shift to digital listening is accelerating across the U.K. and the fact that listening on analog platforms has declined to just over 50% is a tipping point,” said Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio U.K. “The 12.5% annual growth in digital listening hours to nearly 42% share is the strongest we have seen for two years. This is reflected in the success of national BBC and commercial stations on digital and this is the first time that digital listening of national stations has been over 50%. We are now counting down to the moment when the majority of all radio listening will be to digital.”
Other facts from Rajar’s recent study include how DAB is growing faster than the Internet at 14% compared to 9%, and how DAB is listened to four-times longer on the radio than over the Internet.
