UK-based RAJAR (Radio Joint Audio Research) has released its Q3 audience data report. The headline finding is this:
“87% of the (UK) population tune into radio every week.”
The survey covers an impressive 51.2 million adults, representing 87% of the UK population.
With the rise of digital alternatives, one might expect that radio statistic to be shrunken from previous surveys over many years. But the attrition over two years is a tiny 1.1 percent. Of further interest, radio suffered greater listening erosion in 2025 — but not much: In that year 85.8% listened to radio.
RAJAR also gives us the amount of listening to live radio, stated as hours per week. That number is 20.2 hours.
How do listeners listen? Particularly, how do digital platforms fit in — DAB, DTV, Websites, apps, and smart speakers? The answer is 77% of the population listen digitally at least sometimes. Translating that into hours, RAJAR tells us 76% of weekly listening time is consumed digitally.
In a further breakdown, we learn that 790 million hours are given to total digital listening. That number includes:
- DAB – 446 million weekly hours
- Smart speakers – 193 million weekly hours
- Websites/apps – 126 million weekly hours
- DTV – 25 million weekly hours
And where does this listening happen? Mostly at home: 62%. The car delivers 25%, and at-work listening takes 13%.
Drilling into smart speakers, we learn two survey results:
- 63% of owners use their speakers for radio
- 21% of those people listen to radio every day.
There’s more to this RAJAR release. It’s a free and concise infographic. Get it HERE.