Global growth!

16 May 2024 - Press release

 

Global delivered an incredible set of RAJAR figures for Quarter 1 (1 January – 31 March 2024), with a record-breaking 27.6 million people tuning in each week to live radio across Global's brands, with huge gains on reach, hours and share in the last quarter and year-on-year. It is the most popular commercial radio group in the UK with listeners enjoying a record-breaking 266 million hours of radio and a best-ever 26.1% share across brands including Heart, Capital, LBC, Smooth Radio, Radio X and Classic FM.  

 

Here are some more key headlines: 

GLOBAL

• With 27.6 million listeners tuning in to Global's radio brands each week, it is the number one commercial radio company in the UK. 
• Global has a new record share of 26.1%. 
• Hours are 266 million, making it the most popular commercial radio group.  
• Online listening overtakes analogue FM/AM listening for the first time on all radio, with the highest ever online listening share (27.8%) compared to analogue (27%), mainly down to growth in commercial radio. Global Player, the official app for all of Global's brands, allows listeners to enjoy both audio and video from its radio brands, as well as award-winning podcasts, and expertly-curated playlists, in one place in app, web and smart speakers.    
    

HEART

• Heart strengthens its position as the number one commercial radio brand as it celebrates a record-breaking 12.4 million weekly listeners, adding 1.1 million in the last year and increasing in reach, hours and share year-on-year.  
• The Heart brand beats Radio 1 by more than 5 million listeners.   
• Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden is the biggest commercial radio and breakfast show in the UK with 4.2 million weekly listeners increasing in reach, hours and share year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. The show beats Radio 1 Breakfast by more than 200,000 listeners.  
• Heart's decades stations, Heart 70s (727,000), Heart 80s (1.9m), and Heart 00s (994,000), all celebrate record-breaking figures.  

 

CAPITAL

• The UK's no.1 hit music brand reaches a massive 8.3 million weekly listeners adding 469,000 listeners year-on-year.  
• Capital Breakfast reaches a huge 2.5 million listeners. This includes Roman Kemp's final show as he handed over the mic to Jordan North for the All New Capital Breakfast show which launched on April 8^th. 
• Capital Chill hits record-breaking reach with 190,000 weekly listeners, increasing in reach and hours quarter-on-quarter. 
• Capital XTRA, home to the biggest hip-hop and RnB has smashed its previous record and now has more than 2 million people tuning in across the UK every week. It has more than double the audience of BBC Radio 1Xtra.   
• Capital XTRA Breakfast with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie has 624,000 listeners, increasing in reach and hours year-on-year.  

 

SMOOTH RADIO   

• Smooth Radio celebrates its highest ever audience figures, with a record 6.5 million people listening each week, adding 363,000 in the past three months. Its reach, hours and share have increased both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.  
• Smooth's Kate Garraway celebrates her best-ever figures, reaching a record 2.6 million listeners.  
• Smooth Country has grown in reach, hours and share both in the last quarter and year-on-year, with a new weekly audience of 358,000. 
• In its first set of results since launching in January, Smooth Relax reaches 348,000 people. 
• Smooth London again smashes the 1 million listener mark. 

 

LBC

• LBC, the UK's leading commercial news talk brand, has grown in reach, hours and share in the past quarter, adding 270,000 listeners. It now reaches 3.3 million people each week. 
• LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast has increased his audience to 1.4 million, growing in reach in the past quarter.  
• LBC's weekday line-up - James O'Brien, Shelagh Fogarty, Tom Swarbrick, Tonight with Andrew Marr, and Iain Dale - is celebrating massive growth with every programme growing in reach, hours and share in the past three months.  
• LBC News, the UK's only rolling news radio station, increases its reach with 990,000 people tuning in for the latest breaking news.  

 

RADIO X

• Radio X celebrates its highest ever weekly reach with 2.2 million listeners tuning in every week, 714,000 more than Virgin Radio. 
• At breakfast on Radio X, The Chris Moyles Show continues to entertain 1.2 million listeners every morning, increasing in reach, hours and share year-on-year.  
• Radio X Classic Rock has a weekly audience of 241,000 listeners.  

 

MORE FROM GLOBAL

• Classic FM is the UK's number one classical music station, with 4.4 million weekly listeners. 
• Gold has a weekly audience of 1.8 million, adding 134,000 listeners in the past quarter. 
• Capital XTRA Reloaded celebrates a new high for the fourth quarter in a row - it now has 603,000 weekly listeners.  
• Capital Dance entertains 995,000 listeners every week. 
• The Official Big Top 40 from Global is the UK's biggest chart show grows 16.5%, reaching 1.6 million listeners every week across Capital and Heart adding 227,0000 listeners in the last quarter.  

 

Ashley Tabor-King CBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said: "What an incredible day!! To have added a million listeners and achieve record reach, hours and share, hitting over 27 million listeners for the first time ever (27.6m) is a real moment. For connected listening to overtake analogue listening is testament to Global Player and all those who have worked so hard to create that platform. We are forever grateful to the millions of people who listen to our radio stations, and we will always work tirelessly to make everything our listeners hear the very best it can be. I'd like to acknowledge the continued work of every talented Globaller who truly deliver on our mission to make everyone's day brighter!"

James Rea, Chief Broadcasting & Content Officer at Global, said: "This is a stunning set of record results for Global. I'm thrilled for our fantastic teams who work so hard to produce amazing content every day and we're all incredibly grateful to our audiences right around the UK who continue to turn to Global's brands in their millions."