BBC Radio 2 faced a significant decline, losing one million listeners in its first quarter after presenter Ken Bruce departed to join Greatest Hits Radio (GHR). In his initial three months on GHR,
Bruce attracted nearly three million listeners to his mid-morning show, surpassing his predecessor Mark Goodier by 1.25 million listeners. Despite this achievement, Bruce's GHR audience remains below the level he enjoyed on Radio 2, where his program was the UK's most popular radio show.
The latest figures from Rajar, the radio industry body, reveal a challenging quarter for Radio 2 following Bruce's exit in March. Zoe Ball's breakfast show also experienced a drop of 533,000 listeners compared to the previous quarter, leaving her with an audience of 6.7 million. Nevertheless, her program retained its position as the most popular breakfast show in the UK.
During the second quarter, Gary Davies temporarily hosted Bruce's former Radio 2 mid-morning show until Vernon Kay assumed the permanent role. However, as Kay's tenure began midway through the audience measurement period, a true representation of his figures will only be available in the next quarter.
Despite the decrease in audience, BBC Radio 2 remains the UK's most popular station by a considerable margin, with 13.5 million loyal listeners tuning in each week. The station boss, Helen Thomas, praised Zoe Ball's continued success as the host of the most-listened-to breakfast show in the country.
Greatest Hits Radio, where Ken Bruce currently works, now boasts nearly six million listeners overall. Bruce also announced a GHR spin-off station dedicated to music from the 1960s. Despite the decline in Radio 4's listenership, BBC Local Radio stations collectively increased their total audience from 7.38 to 7.65 million, even amidst significant upheaval and job cuts.
The BBC Sounds app experienced a surge in listening, witnessing a nearly 50% increase in usage from the previous year, with a record 582 million plays of its programs, podcasts, and music mixes. Photo by TomGreen at English Wikipedia.