Half a million listeners tune out of Radio 2 after older DJs are dumped, latest figures show
- Listeners are tuning into rival stations as older DJ are replaced by younger ones
- ‘Radio 2 refugees’ have abandoned the BBC station for commercial alternatives
- Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 breakfast show lost the most weekly listeners, figures show
Listeners are switching off from all top BBC radio stations and tuning into rivals instead, official figures show.
They include ‘Radio 2 refugees’ who have abandoned the station for commercial alternatives like Boom Radio as older DJs are replaced by younger ones.
Radio 2’s breakfast show, presented by Zoe Ball, has lost the most weekly listeners among main BBC stations.
The total was down 359,000 in the last quarter of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021.
However, it is still the most listened to breakfast radio programme with a weekly audience of 7.1million.
Radio 2’s breakfast show, presented by Zoe Ball, has lost the most weekly listeners among main BBC stations
Radio 4’s Today dropped by 282,000 to 6.1million in the same period. Radio 5 Live’s breakfast show also lost around 200,000, down to 1.6million a week.
The figures, published by research group Rajar, show all the major BBC stations saw a decline in listeners over the past 12 months. Radio 2 lost just over half a million listeners – down 3.9 per cent.
It came as Steve Wright, 68, was replaced in the afternoon slot after 23 years by Radio 1’s Scott Mills, 49.
Paul O’Grady, 67, who was at Radio 2 for 14 years, quit his show months after he was forced to share the time slot with comedian Rob Beckett, 37, while Ken Bruce, 71, last month announced his departure after 31 years on the UK’s most popular radio programme.
He is moving to Greatest Hits Radio which boosted its audience by nearly a third in the last year to 4.3million a week.
Meanwhile, Boom Radio’s audience rocketed from 242,000 to 531,000.
Radio 3 is down 6.3 per cent at 1.8million. Radio 1 has fallen 4.6 per cent to 7.7million and Radio 4 slid 3.8 per cent to 1million.
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