In the fourth quarter of 2023, the station BBC Radio 2 ranked first in terms of listener reach with roughly 13.28 million listeners tuning in on a weekly basis. BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 1 followed, each with over seven million listeners per week.

In the last quarter of 2023, the station BBC Radio 4, including 4 Extra, ranked first in terms of hours spent per listener, with an average of 12.8 hours weekly per listener. BBC Radio 2 ranked fourth, with an average of 10.2 hours per listener.

In the fiscal year 2023/24, BBC Radio 4 presented the highest BBC radio programming spending in the United Kingdom, with 87 million British pounds. The station BBC Radio 5 Live displayed the second highest spend that year, with 58 million British pounds, followed by BBC Radio 2 with spending of 49 million British pounds.

As of the first quarter of 2020, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) made up four of the top five radio stations in the United Kingdom for weekly reach. BBC Radio 2, the leading radio station in the UK saw its average consumer listen to over ten hours per week. The UK radio industry has seen revenues remain stagnant between 2014 and 2018.

Podcasts and listen again radio

One issue that traditional radio has had to face is the rise of podcasts and listen again radio stations as well as music streaming services. Consumers can now listen to exactly what they want, when they want, often without having to listen to advertising breaks. In 2018, approximately seven million people listened to podcasts in the UK. Also in 2018, approximately 30 percent of individuals used Spotify in the UK.

Demographics

In 2017, those aged between 25 and 44 were most likely to have listened to radio in the previous week. Unlike some other forms of media, UK consumers have been relatively slow to move over to online and app-based consumption. This may be due to the popularity of radio during drive time commutes. The AM/FM radio was still the most popular form of radio consumption in the UK in 2018.

In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, BBC 1Xtra cost six pence per user hour to produce and was the most expensive radio station for programming. This was followed by BBC Radio 3 and BBC Asian Network, with five pence per user hour, each.

This statistic shows the cost to deliver BBC news, national and local radio channels to users per user hour in the United Kingdom (UK) from fiscal year 2015/16 to 2019/20. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, cost for BBC Radio nan Gaidheal amounted to 26 pence per user hour to produce and was the most expensive of the BBC radio stations.

The radio station most used for news in the United Kingdom among consumers aged 16 years or above was BBC Radio 2 in 2023, according to the results of a national survey conducted in summer that year. BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 1 were also popular choices.

This statistic displays the top radio stations ranked by total hours consumed weekly in the United Kingdom (UK) in quarter two 2019. That quarter the station BBC Radio 2 ranked first with 166.6 million hours listened per week. The station BBC Radio 4 ranked second with over 113 million hours listened.

This statistic displays the leading radio stations used for news in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020. In 2020, 29 percent of respondents reported using BBC Radio 2 for news, while 21 and 22 percent respectively listed BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4.

BBC One had the greatest weekly reach among the BBC's television services in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. All channels in the ranking experienced a decline in audience reach over the past years. The BBC celebrates its 100th birthday and enters a period of uncertainty The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the public broadcasting service of the United Kingdom and the oldest broadcasting organization worldwide. It was established in London on October 18, 1922, but after an entire century on air, the BBC now enters an uncertain future in terms of funding. Around 70 percent of the BBC's annual income is generated via license fees, but as the government announced the termination of this tax by 2027, the BBC will have to explore new avenues to stay afloat. So what will the future hold for the BBC and its programming now that consumers will no longer be required to pay the annual fee? Sources speculate that funding alternatives could include a subscription service, part-privatization, or direct government funding. The portfolio goes with the (digital) flow The BBC operates several television channels in the UK and worldwide, including the news-only channel BBC News and the politics-centered BBC Parliament. As of 2024, BBC One remained the company's flagship service, and data showed that the lion's share of the BBC's total television programming spending was allocated towards BBC One content that year. In addition to offering cross-genre television and radio broadcasts, the corporation keeps expanding its range of online services to resonate with audiences in the UK and abroad. The BBC runs a designated news platform alongside the on-demand video streaming platform BBC iPlayer.

In 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, radio advertising spending in the United Kingdom amounted 577.1 million pounds. However, the industry managed to recover in 2021, with ad spend having grown by roughly a quarter to reach 720.1 million pounds that year. A year later, it increased by another three percent to exceed 740 million, only to fall by roughly three percent in 2023.

BBC radio reach higher than commercial

During the early stages of the pandemic, Classic FM was the most successful commercial radio station in terms of reach in 2020 in the UK. However, it was not the most successful overall. The top three radio stations in terms of reach in the UK in 2020 were BBC stations. BBC Radio 2 had the highest reach, followed by Radio 4 and then Radio 1.

Digital radio reach far from static

The way people listen to the radio has changed, with more and more people listening digitally. In the fist quarter of 2020, digital radio had a reach of 67 percent. That’s twice what it was ten years previous.

In the year ending March 31, 2024, the BBC saw an income of approximately 5.39 billion British pounds. Of this, 3.66 billion British pounds were attributed to the license fees paid by UK households. The BBC is a cornerstone of the British TV industry, with BBC 1 being used weekly by roughly 50 percent of the population. BBC iPlayer In July 2007, the BBC launched its on demand internet service, the iPlayer. Today, the platform is seeing weekly viewing times of over 300 million minutes. Landmark series such as Blue Planet II, saw almost five million requests on the platform for its first episode. Viewership The BBC is the most popular broadcaster in terms of viewers in the UK. In 2024, the BBC had an audience share more than ten percent higher than the next largest broadcaster. The BBC 1 channel alone, had a quarterly reach of approximately 55 million in the third quarter of 2019.

In July 2024, the BBC released annual information regarding employees’ salaries. Sports presenter Gary Lineker was the highest paid BBC employee, with an approximate income of 1.35 million British pounds. This was followed by radio presenter Zoe Ball, with her pay below the billion-pound mark. Ken Bruce – the power of loyal fans In mid-2023, after 30 years of employment at BBC, Ken Bruce, one of the highest-earning presenters of the company, left to work at a rival radio station. Bruce is known for his mellow presenting style and a trademarked Popmaster music quiz. He took both to his new employer. Even though BBC Radio 2 remains the leading radio station in the UK by audience numbers, Bruce’s departure meant a loss of a million listeners for the BBC between the first and second quarters of 2023. It is reported that these fans followed Bruce to his new mid-morning show on Greatest Hits Radio. In general, the BBC runs national UK radio stations, as well as multiple regional and local radio services. The share of all BBC radio stations in the total listening time in the UK is just over 50 percent. BBC Radio 4 has always taken up the largest share of the corporation’s spending on radio programming, while Radio 5 live and Radio 2 follow suit. BBC – sources of income The majority of BBC’s income comes from the license fee. It is a tax which must be paid by each household in the UK in order to receive live television programming, stream online TV via the internet, or watch BBC programs on iPlayer. In 2023 the cost of the fee was 159 British pounds. More than 65 percent of the company’s income is attributed to this funding. The remainder of BBC income and revenue consists of commercial (mainly BBC Worldwide) income and Grant-in-Aid for World Service income. In total, BBC’s revenue from TV business and offerings surpassed 20 billion British pounds in 2022.

According to a study from 2022 on the radio consumption in the United Kingdom, the leading attributes of radio news sources, according to users of radio news were high quality and that the radio helps understand the world. While BBC radio seemed more popular for news consumption, Heart radio listeners chose their program for its trustworthiness.

The BBC reported an advertising income of 302 million British pounds in the fiscal year of 2024. This figure marked a slight increase of over one percent compared to the previous year.

Advertising on the BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the leading public service broadcaster in the United Kingdom (UK). Founded in 1922 and celebrated its centennial birthday on October 18, 2022, the company also reigns as the oldest national broadcaster worldwide. Even though the BBC is primarily funded by license fees, which allow it to circumvent the necessity to show commercials and remain politically impartial, the corporation also generates revenue from advertising. Its three commercial subsidiaries include BBC Studios, BBC Global News, and BBC Studio networks, which operate across multiple platforms and global regions. Categories of advertising that are prohibited include those promoting religious belief systems, adult products and services, tobacco, weapons, and politics (in the UK only).

Winds of change for the BBC and its license fee The BBC generates most of its income through an annual TV license fee that UK households must pay to receive live television programming (on any channel), stream online television content via the internet, or watch BBC programs on BBC iPlayer – regardless of the devices that are used. In 2024, the BBC's license fee income of 3.66 billion British pounds accounted for approximately 68 percent of the BBC's total annual income in the UK, but based on the government's decision to abolish the fee by 2027, the BBC and its programming are facing an uncertain future.

The main reason respondents used BBC iPlayer in 2019 was to catch up on content from the past week. A third (33 percent) used iPlayer to catch up on content from the past month, and 28 percent used iPlayer to watch something recommended. BBC iPlayer is one of the most popular video on demand (VoD) services in the United Kingdom (UK), along with Netflix, ITV Hub, and Amazon Prime Video.

During the third quarter of 2024, internet users in the United Kingdom (UK) spent an average over five and a half hours per day accessing the internet via any device. UK online audiences spent approximately one hour and 37 minutes per day on social media, while an additional 50 minutes were devoted to using a gaming console daily. Traditional media - is usage declining? Some forms of traditional media in the country are in decline more than others when it comes to usage, which is especially visible in the case of TV. In recent years the number of TV households in the UK has remained fairly unchanged, however, the time spent watching television has been constantly decreasing. Interestingly, radio listenership has not followed this trend. Digital radio format usage is growing as per some studies. Yet, live radio dominates the time spent with any audio in the UK by a large margin.British radio is a showcase for the loyalty of its fans. In mid-2023, after 30 years of employment at BBC, Ken Bruce, one of the highest-earning presenters of the company, left to work at a rival radio station. He took both of his signature programs to his new employer. Even though BBC Radio 2 remains the leading radio station in the UK by audience numbers, Bruce’s departure meant a loss of a million listeners for the BBC between the first and second quarters of 2023.

In a survey conducted between January and February 2023, Channels TV, a Nigerian 24-hour news TV channel, achieved a reach of 48 percent in terms of its weekly usage in Nigeria. This made it the leading offline news brand in Nigeria. Moreover, the usage reach per week stood at 47 percent for The Punch, a Nigerian newspaper, and 42 percent for BBC (TV and radio).

The results of a survey on the leading video streaming and downloading services in the United Kingdom (UK) found that Netflix was the most popular streaming service as of the fourth quarter of 2021. More than four fifths of respondents stated that they used Netflix to watch TV, series, or movies.

Growing popularity of Netflix and Amazon Prime

Among the top services, both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video demonstrated growth between 2017 and 2021. In contrast, the popularity of platforms such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and All 4 decreased. A survey conducted in 2018 showed that when asked why they used video-on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the top reasons cited by respondents included watching original series and content not available elsewhere, and being able to watch multiple episodes in a row, unlike some catch-up services which only host episodes for a maximum of 30 days.

Focus on original content

In order to stand out from other video streaming services, both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have consistently focused on building up their content base. Despite Amazon Prime Video boasting over 20 thousand titles as of February 2021 compared to 6,024 on Netflix, it appears that the latter’s appeal lies in the popularity and demand of its original content. As a company solely focused on digital video streaming, Netflix is also dedicated to growing its product, and continues to inject more into its video content budget each year, reaching 17 billion U.S. dollars as of 2021. In the same year, Amazon only allocated 13 billion dollars for its video content segment.