FM Still Major Radio Listening Platform in the UK

BBC FM Radio Content Dominate Digital Listening. DAB sales down 9% 

Over the full 12 months to June 2014, digital listening (including DAB, DTV and online) accounted for a 36.3% share of all radio listening hours in the UK. Two-thirds of digital radio listening is through a DAB set. In the 12 months to June 2014  listening to digital radio was via a DAB set 65.3%, while 16.3% of digital listening was online or via apps. Digital TV accounted for 13.8%. BBC stations accounted for over half of digital listening (55.6%); of which simulcasts of analogue BBC radio services contributed the most.

Sales of DAB radio sets fell 9.1% in the second quarter of 2014 compared with the same period last year, according to Ofcom’s fifth annual Digital Radio Report.

The BBC national DAB multiplex now covers 95% of households. Digital television services which also carry digital radio services can be received by 99% of households, while digital radio via broadband internet is available to almost all, and taken up by 78%.

Almost half of UK adults (48.5%) claim to own a DAB digital radio set. Compared to Q2 2013, sales of DAB digital radio sets were down by 9.1%, with 1.7 million being sold in the year to Q2 2014. DAB sales continue to represent around a third of all radio set sales. And more than half of new cars are now fitted with DAB as standard.

Digital listening has increased 10.4 percentage points since 2011. DAB listening tends to stay around 24 % of all radio listening in the UK while there is a steady increase in online listening.

Proportion of individuals who claim to listen to radio on a mobile phone or tablet at least once per month has increased on one year basis from 14,9 to 22,4 %.  For the age group 15-24 from 28,2 to 36,2 %.

Also read
British FM Licensing Indicates Switch-Off Is Far Off