Radio 4’s Today Programme has lost 800,000 listeners in the past year as they switched to podcasts and rival talk radio shows.
The agenda-setting breakfast discussion programme has been trying to reinvent itself in recent months, adopting a more informal tone for parts of the show. It has also had to deal with Rishi Sunak’s government cutting access to government ministers as part of a deliberate communication strategy.
Today reached 7.5 million people a week in 2016 during the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. But with changing listening habits – the launch of rival talk stations such as Times Radio, and the growth of news podcasts – this declined to just 5.8 million weekly listeners by the start of 2023, according to official listening figures.
Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said the broadcaster was “adapting to meet the changing listening needs of our audiences” by focusing on podcasts, such as I’m Not a Monster: The Shamima Begum Story.
She said the decline in Radio 4’s broadcast audience was offset by audience growth for on-demand listening, adding: “The quality of content is world class and Radio 4 remains the home for trusted and impartial news, thought-provoking current affairs, groundbreaking documentaries, and boundary-pushing comedy, arts and drama.”
Elsewhere, Radio 2 maintained 14.5 million weekly listeners, despite a push to attract younger audiences that has alienated some longstanding fans. However, these figures cover the first three months of this year, before much-loved mid-morning host Ken Bruce departed for commercial rival Greatest Hits Radio.
Greatest Hits Radio has invested heavily in advertising before Bruce’s arrival and the station’s weekly audience has already grown by 26% year-on-year to 5.3 million listeners, aided by the decision to give ex-BBC presenter Simon Mayo a drivetime slot. The network, which combines a number of local stations with a national DAB station, is one of many outlets trying to pick up disaffected Radio 2 listeners.
Commercial radio listening continues to grow at the BBC’s expense, aided by the trend of merging local stations to produce nationwide content, as well as smart speakers making it easier to try new outlets.
One of the beneficiaries of these trends is LBC’s James O’Brien, who recorded his biggest audience ever, with 1.5 million weekly listeners. His station is owned by media company Global, whose stations – which also include Capital, Heart, and Smooth – now account for 25% of all British radio listening.
The figures are produced by Rajar, which combines a survey of the British public with electronic monitoring of their listening habits.
