London, Thursday 16 May 2024: The latest round of RAJAR results - for the survey period ending 31 March 2024 - sees News Broadcasting’s portfolio of radio stations, including national brands talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK, Talk and Times Radio, as well as U105 in Northern Ireland, deliver record-breaking listening hours up 5.6%  year-on-year to 45.3m, with weekly reach at 6.6m.

News UK EVP, President of Broadcasting, Scott Taunton, said: “News Broadcasting delivers another set of record-breaking results, demonstrating once again the amazing engagement our on and off air talent develop with their audiences. 

“It’s rewarding to see the investments we put into creating compelling digital-first content continue to pay off with online video viewing figures far surpassing our competitors. With the development of our News Studios offering - creating video content for News Broadcasting brands as well as The Sun and The Times - we look forward to seeing these figures continue to grow as we further solidify our position as the pioneers of digital broadcasting’s future.” 

Covering over 110 live football commentaries, including the race for the Premier League title, as well as The Super Bowl, Cheltenham Festival, exclusive rights to the India v England Test Series and covering the rugby Women’s Super League season for the first time, the talkSPORT network delivered a reach of 3.7m listeners, an increase of 4.2% year-on-year, listening for 22.5m hours - up 10.8% year-on-year. talkSPORT, talkSPORT2 and the talkSPORT network as a whole all deliver record reach in the period, and talkSPORT now delivers commercial partners a record ABC1 audience. Meanwhile, talkSPORT continues to lead the way as a multi-media sports brand with audiences also able to watch 80 hours of live video content every week.

Over the next few days, talkSPORT will bring listeners all the drama as the Premier League reaches its climax this week and in the months ahead, the team will cover the year’s biggest sporting events, including Euro 2024 live from Germany, with an all-star team including Emmanuel Petit and Ashley Young. Soon after, talkSPORT will be on the ground in Paris, with the Olympics being covered for the first time ever on commercial radio. 

The dream-team line-up of presenters on the station now includes Alan Brazil, Jeff Stelling, Ally McCoist, Jim White, Simon Jordan and Natalie Sawyer. Covering the field with punditry are Stuart Pearce, Gabby Agbonlahor and Lianne Sanderson bringing the very best analysis. 

Spurred on by new presenters with the launch of the Ryan Tubridy Show mid-morning show on weekdays and Kim Wilde joining Virgin Radio 80s plus, the Virgin Radio UK network, which includes Virgin Radio UK, Virgin Radio Anthems UK, Virgin Radio Chilled UK and Virgin Radio 80s Plus UK, reached 1.9m listeners, with listening hours across the network of 11.3m. Virgin Radio UK is home to the very best guests and live music - including a who’s who of British celebrity royalty including Richard Curtis, Damian Lewis, Billie Piper and Kate Winslet, with live music from James, Barenaked Ladies and Kula Shaker.

Alongside The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with webuyanycar waking up the nation in the week, listeners now have Angela Scanlon to kick start weekend breakfast, followed by Leigh Francis and Tom Allen, with Dick & Dom’s boundless energy rounding out the day. Outside of the studio, the team will be hitting the road this Summer covering festivals up and down the country, from CarFest and Latitude to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

The Virgin Radio UK network has one of the highest ABC1 profiles in commercial radio and has seen record social views with YouTube hits up 157% year-on-year and Facebook views up 271% year-on-year.

News and opinion station Talk delivered another strong performance, with reach at 757k,  whilst weekly listening hours are at 5m. The Talk brand continues to go from strength to strength growing its cumulative audience on DAB+ radio, smart speakers, YouTube and smart TV, with a schedule including Mike Graham, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Ian Collins, Jeremy Kyle and Kevin O’Sullivan.

Times Radio posted a reach of 503k with weekly listening hours up 26.7% year-on-year to a record 4.4m. This represents an average of 8.8 hours per listener a week - another record for the station, and a sign of how listeners are tuning in to Times Radio’s quality news coverage for longer than ever before. It comes during a period in which Times Radio unveiled its Election Station marketing, showcasing its focus on live political coverage, which this quarter included the Rwanda bill rebellions, the Post Office scandal, and continuing crisis in the Middle East.

Guiding listeners through the hot topics of the day are Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell at Breakfast, followed by Matt Chorley, Ed Vaizey, Jane Garvey and Fi Glover, John Pienaar, Kait Borsay and Carole Walker.

Times Radio has one of the highest AB/ABC1 profiles in commercial radio. 

Northern Ireland’s U105 clocked in another great result with weekly hours up by 12.9% year-on-year to 1.9m, with reach at 223k.

The survey period saw the station cover the restoration of Stormont after a two-year hiatus, plus the flagship Concert of a Lifetime competition awarded one lucky listener a trip to see AC/DC in Amsterdam.  

ENDS

* Views for a minimum of 30 Seconds. Data provided by Tubular Labs.

Radio groups analysed: News Broadcasting, BBC Radio and Music, This is Global and Bauer Media Group