At a Glance
Radio listening remains a large daily habit in the UK, and the latest figures show a medium that is still broad, still routine, and still split across broadcast and digital listening.
The most important pattern in the data is simple: traditional radio is still huge, but online audio is taking a larger slice of listening time and audience attention. The details matter, because the audience is not moving in one straight line. Some measures are rising, some are flat, and some are shifting by age group and platform.
Contents
- What the latest radio listening data says
- How big radio still is in the UK
- Commercial radio, BBC stations, and share of listening
- Online audio and the platforms behind it
- Age groups and listening behaviour
- Norway as a comparison market
- What the figures suggest about listening habits
What the latest radio listening data says
The clearest headline from the dataset is that radio still reaches a very large share of adults every week.
In Q1 2024, 49.9 million UK adults listened to radio each week, which was described as the highest weekly audience in the past twenty years (Ofcom Media Nations 2024). That weekly reach equaled 88.6% of UK adults in Q1 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2024). Those two figures matter together: radio is not a niche habit, and it is not a legacy format that only survives through older audiences.
Listening time also stayed substantial. Average radio listening time in the UK was 20.5 hours per week in Q1 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2024). That was up by 6 minutes year on year in Q1 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2024). A modest increase may not look dramatic, but in a mature media category, movement in average time is a meaningful signal.
Fast facts
- Weekly UK radio audience: 49.9 million adults (Ofcom Media Nations 2024)
- Weekly reach: 88.6% of UK adults (Ofcom Media Nations 2024)
- Average listening time: 20.5 hours per week (Ofcom Media Nations 2024)
- Year-on-year change: +6 minutes (Ofcom Media Nations 2024)
- Commercial radio weekly reach: 70.4% (Ofcom Media Nations 2024)
- BBC stations weekly reach: 55.6% (Ofcom Media Nations 2024)
How big radio still is in the UK
The scale of weekly radio listening is easiest to understand when it is compared with other audio habits. In 2024, 93% of UK adults listened to some form of audio content each week (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). Among 16-34-year-olds, that rose to 98% (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). That means audio itself is nearly universal, but the routes into audio are increasingly diverse.
Music radio still plays a central role. It was used by 62% of UK adults each week in 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). Online music services were close behind at 61% (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). That is an important comparison because it shows how close radio and streaming are in everyday use, even before you start separating age groups.
A compact view of the main audience figures looks like this:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| UK adults listening to radio each week | 49.9 million | Ofcom Media Nations 2024 |
| Weekly reach of UK adults | 88.6% | Ofcom Media Nations 2024 |
| Average listening time | 20.5 hours per week | Ofcom Media Nations 2024 |
| Adults listening to some audio each week | 93% | Ofcom Media Nations 2025 |
| 16-34-year-olds listening to some audio each week | 98% | Ofcom Media Nations 2025 |
| Adults using music radio weekly | 62% | Ofcom Media Nations 2025 |
| Adults using online music services weekly | 61% | Ofcom Media Nations 2025 |
That table shows why radio remains strategically important. It is not just holding on to existing listeners. It is sharing the audio environment with streaming, video, and on-demand services, while still staying close to the top of the weekly habit stack.
Commercial radio, BBC stations, and share of listening
The UK data also shows a split between reach and share. Weekly reach tells you how many people tune in. Share tells you what gets the listening time.
Commercial radio reached 70.4% of UK adults at least once a week in Q1 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2024). BBC stations reached 55.6% of UK adults at least once a week in the same period (Ofcom Media Nations 2024). On the listening-share side, BBC stations accounted for 43.4% of all UK radio listening in Q1 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2024), while commercial radio accounted for 54.2% (Ofcom Media Nations 2024).
That combination suggests a market where commercial radio reaches broadly and holds the largest share of listening, while BBC stations remain deeply embedded in total listening time.
Reach and share at a glance
| Category | Weekly reach | Share of listening | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial radio | 70.4% | 54.2% | Ofcom Media Nations 2024 |
| BBC stations | 55.6% | 43.4% | Ofcom Media Nations 2024 |
The numbers point to two different forms of strength.
Commercial radio has a reach advantage and the largest share of listening time. BBC stations have a slightly lower weekly reach, but still command a large block of total listening. Put differently, the audience is not concentrated in one narrow type of station. The market is broad enough for both models to remain highly relevant.
Online audio and the platforms behind it
The dataset shows that online listening is not replacing radio in a simple one-to-one way. Instead, online audio sits alongside radio and extends the amount of time people spend with audio overall.
In 2024, online radio accounted for 28% of all live radio hours in the UK (Ofcom Gen Z media habits). That is a sizeable share for live listening delivered over the internet. It suggests that live radio is still live radio, but its delivery method has diversified.
The 2024 usage figures also show how platform habits overlap. YouTube reached 47% of UK adults each week as an audio service (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). Spotify reached 36% of UK adults each week (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). BBC Sounds reached 21% of adults each week in 2024 and 24% in 2025 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). Those figures are not interchangeable, because each service is used differently, but they show how broad the audio competition has become.
Other weekly usage figures reinforce the same point:
- Online music videos for background listening were used by 46% of UK adults each week in 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2025)
- Personal music stored on a digital device was used by 41% of UK adults each week in 2024 (Ofcom Media Nations 2025)
- Apple Music reached 23% of 16-34s in 2025, versus 11% across all age groups (Ofcom Audio Report 2025)
That mix of services matters because it shows listening is becoming more modular. People are not just choosing between radio and streaming. They are choosing between live radio, platform radio, music services, video-as-audio, and owned libraries.
BBC Sounds and online-radio competition
BBC Sounds provides one of the clearest examples of platform competition inside audio.
BBC Sounds reached 24% of UK adults each week in 2025, up from 21% in 2024 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). Among 16-24-year-olds, BBC Sounds reached 22% in 2025, up from 14% in 2024 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). Among 45-54-year-olds, it reached 25% in 2025, up from 16% in 2024 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). Among adults aged 55+, it reached 22% in 2025 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025).
The service is also facing competition from large commercial groups. Global’s online radio offerings reached 35% of listeners who use online radio in 2025 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). Bauer’s online radio offerings reached 16% (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). Together, Global plus Bauer reached 44% of online-radio users in 2025, which was almost matching BBC Sounds (Ofcom Audio Report 2025).
That comparison shows a fragmented online-radio landscape rather than a winner-takes-all market.
Age groups and listening behaviour
Age segmentation is where the data becomes especially useful. The same media category can look stable overall while changing sharply inside specific age bands.
The broadest signal is that younger adults are more likely to use a wider mix of audio and platform services. In 2024, 98% of 16-34-year-olds listened to some form of audio content each week (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). Among that same group, Spotify reached 64% in 2025, compared with 37% of all adults (Ofcom Audio Report 2025). YouTube reached 65% of 16-34s in 2025, versus 47% of all adults (Ofcom Media Nations 2025). Apple Music reached 23% of 16-34s in 2025, versus 11% across all age groups (Ofcom Audio Report 2025).
That is not a minor age skew. It is a strong sign that platform choice is more varied among younger adults.
Older audiences, meanwhile, remain crucial to radio’s core reach. In Norway, listeners aged 65+ spent 203 minutes per day listening to radio in 2024 (Nielsen Norway 2024). While that is a different market, it reflects a broader truth: older listeners remain highly engaged with radio, often at much higher daily intensity than younger adults.
The UK platform data also shows shifting age patterns for BBC Sounds:
- 16-24-year-olds: 22% in 2025, up from 14% in 2024 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025)
- 25-34-year-olds: 27% in 2025 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025)
- 35-44-year-olds: 24% in 2025 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025)
- 45-54-year-olds: 25% in 2025, up from 16% in 2024 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025)
- 55+: 22% in 2025 (Ofcom Audio Report 2025)
What the age data implies
The age splits suggest that audio habits are not converging into a single platform. Younger adults are distributing attention across radio, streaming, and video-based audio. Older adults still provide major depth for radio listening, and the middle age bands remain important for services that blend live, catch-up, and podcast use.
Norway as a comparison market
Norway gives the dataset a useful comparison point because it shows a mature radio market that is still large but moving gradually.
In 2024, daily radio reach in Norway fell to 58% from 60.3% in 2023 (Nielsen Norway 2024). Weekly radio reach fell to 83.1% from 84.1% (Nielsen Norway 2024). Daily radio listening time fell to 79 minutes from 83 minutes (Nielsen Norway 2024). These are not dramatic drops, but they show gradual softening in some measures.
At the same time, some segments remained strong:
- Average daily time spent listening among Norwegian radio listeners was 136 minutes in 2024 (Nielsen Norway 2024)
- Listeners aged 65+ spent 203 minutes per day listening to radio in 2024 (Nielsen Norway 2024)
- Daily radio reach among Norwegians aged 65+ rose to 73.4% from 72.9% (Nielsen Norway 2024)
- Weekly radio reach among Norwegians aged 65+ rose to 90.5% from 90.1% (Nielsen Norway 2024)
The in-car audience also stands out. In Norway, 1,626,000 people listened to radio in the car daily in 2024 (Nielsen Norway 2024). That represented 33.4% of Norway’s population (Nielsen Norway 2024). In-car radio listeners spent 44 minutes per day listening in 2024, up from 38 minutes in 2023 (Nielsen Norway 2024).
Podcast listening is also part of the wider audio picture there. 40% of people listened to podcasts weekly in 2024, and 13% listened daily (Nielsen Norway 2024). Among people aged 20-29, 25% listened to podcasts daily (Nielsen Norway 2024). That lines up with the broader theme in the UK data: audio consumption is fragmenting across formats rather than disappearing.
Norwegian market share snapshot
| Station group | Market share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NRK | 66% | Nielsen Norway 2024 |
| P4-group | 22.1% | Nielsen Norway 2024 |
| Bauer Media | 11.9% | Nielsen Norway 2024 |
That market-share table is useful because it shows how concentrated a national radio market can still be, even when listening is spread across more formats.
What the figures suggest about listening habits
The data does not support the idea that radio is fading into irrelevance. It supports a more precise reading: radio remains one of the most durable daily and weekly audio habits, but it now operates inside a much wider digital audio environment.
Three patterns stand out.
First, radio still has reach at scale. The UK weekly audience of 49.9 million adults and reach of 88.6% (Ofcom Media Nations 2024) show that radio remains close to universal among adults.
Second, audio use is becoming more layered. Adults are using radio, streaming services, music video, device libraries, and platform apps in overlapping ways (Ofcom Media Nations 2025; Ofcom Audio Report 2025). The market is not one format replacing another. It is a stack of formats, each with a role.
Third, age matters more than ever. Younger adults show higher use of YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and BBC Sounds in specific combinations (Ofcom Audio Report 2025; Ofcom Media Nations 2025). Older adults keep radio anchored as a regular habit, with strong daily time commitments visible in the Norway comparison (Nielsen Norway 2024).
If you are reading the numbers as a media planner, publisher, or advertiser, the lesson is not that radio is old and streaming is new. The lesson is that live radio, online radio, and on-demand audio now coexist in a single attention market. The strongest strategies will treat them as connected listening behaviors, not separate worlds.