Canadian radio captures five times the listening time of ad-supported Spotify
Weekly radio reach in the United Kingdom rose to 51.183 million in the third quarter of 2026, covering the period June 29 June to Sept. 20 —a new high in Rajar’s reported series. The total was up by 64,000 from Q2 and 1.038 million from Q3 2025. Reach among adults 15 and older also rose year-over-year, from 86.1% to 86.7%, so the increase was not solely the result of a larger population estimate.
Total listening time moved in the opposite direction quarter-over-quarter. Radio generated 1.034 billion hours a week, down 0.6% from Q2, and the average listener spent 20.2 hours a week with radio, compared with 20.3 hours in Q2. Year-over-year, however, total hours rose 1.2% from 1.022 billion. The figures point to a slight quarterly easing in listening time alongside continued growth in weekly reach.
Commercial radio reached 39.949 million people, down 244,000 from Q2, but its weekly hours rose by 2.7 million to 575.6 million. Its share of listening increased from 55.1% to 55.7%. The BBC’s reach edged up by 84,000 to 31.018 million, while its weekly hours fell by 10.5 million to 432.7 million and its share declined from 42.6% to 41.9%. Year-over-year, both broadcasters added listening hours: Commercial radio rose 0.6%, while BBC radio rose 1.5%.
Digital listening accounted for 76% of radio hours, while online listening via websites, apps and smart speakers made up 31%. In Q3 2025, digital platforms accounted for 73.8% of hours and online listening for 29.7%. The share carried by AM/FM fell from 26.2% to 23.6% over the same year-on-year comparison.
Major broadcaster groups show mixed results
The reporting periods differ across the results. Rajar marks stations and groups as quarterly, half-yearly or yearly: The Q3 figure for an H service covers six months, while a Q figure covers the three-month period. Many commercial networks and group totals are half-yearly, so their numbers should not be treated as direct quarter-on-quarter changes.
Global reported 29.1 million weekly listeners across its radio-brand portfolio, 289 million weekly listening hours and a 28% share. Rajar’s table separately lists Total Global Radio (U.K.) at 27.672 million listeners, 261 million hours and a 25.3% share. These are different reported totals and should not be conflated. On the Rajar group measure, reach was up 0.7% year over year, while listening share was down 0.1 percentage point.
Heart remained the largest commercial radio brand, with 13.024 million weekly listeners — 355,000 more than BBC Radio 2, it’s main BBC national rival. Hwever, that comparison is between the combined Heart brand, including its extensions, and a single BBC station. Capital reached 9.146 million, down 2.6% year over year, while Smooth reached 7.491 million, down 1.9%. Global CEO Simon Pitts said the company had “delivered record listening hours” and pointed to the “enduring strength” of its brands.
Bauer Media Audio UK reported 22.9 million weekly listeners across its owned and partner stations. Rajar’s group total for Bauer excluding partners was 21.244 million, down 0.8% year-over-year; the two figures use different scopes. Bauer’s KISS service was its standout year-over-year performer: The KISS Network reached 3.893 million, up 12.2% year-over-year, while KISSTORY reached 1.873 million, down 10.8%. Bauer also said the “KISS Breakfast” show with Tyler West and Chloe Burrows grew 29% year-over-year; The Rajar figures put the show’s weekly reach at 561,000, down 16% quarter-on-quarter. Bauer Director of Audio Gary Stein said, “KISS has had a brilliant year since its relaunch, and Tyler and Chloe have made Breakfast fun, unpredictable and genuinely part of their listeners’ mornings.”
Other Bauer networks were mixed. The Hits Radio Portfolio reached 12.197 million, down 4.6% year over year, while the Greatest Hits Radio Network reached 6.760 million, down 5.6%. Bauer reported record audiences for Hits Radio 90s and Hits Radio 00s; Rajar’s half-yearly figures show 491,000 and 420,000 listeners, respectively. The Absolute Radio Network was nearly level year-over-year at 5.502 million, and the Magic Radio Network reached 3.355 million, down 3.3%. Bauer separately reported a 4.2% quarterly rise for the main Magic station.
News Broadcasting reported a combined reach of 6.5 million across talkSPORT, Times Radio, Virgin Radio UK, Talk and U105, with 43.8 million listening hours. It said 87% of its listening was digital. Within Rajar’s figures, the talkSPORT Network reached 3.758 million listeners and generated 24.925 million hours, both up year-over-year. Times Radio reached 619,000, with listening hours up 14% to 5.5 million. Scott Taunton, News UK’s president of broadcasting, called it “an extraordinary quarter” for the group and said its digital investment was “delivering record-breaking engagement across screen and speaker.”
BBC radio reached 31.018 million people and accounted for 41.9% of listening. Radio 2 remained the most listened-to single station, with 12.669 million weekly listeners, up 2.4% from Q2 but down 0.9% year-over-year. Its breakfast show with Sara Cox reached 6.439 million, up 4% year over year, according to BBC figures reported after the release. Classical station Radio 3 reached 1.962 million, up 8.6% year-over-year during the BBC Proms season. Controller Sam Jackson said he was “delighted to see Radio 3 attracting two million listeners every week over the summer.”
Smaller commercial groups also posted gains. Nation Broadcasting Group’s weekly reach rose from 980,000 in Q3 2025 to 1.748 million in Q3 2026. The rise is substantial, though, as with other group totals, its interpretation depends on which stations are included in the grouping.
You can view or download the full summary of the Q3 2026 listener figures below.
You can view or download a handy infographic of the figures here.
If you want to read our summary of the previous quarter’s results, go here.
If you want to compare the figures below with Q2 2026, you can find those figures here.
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