Mobile phone radio usage increasing

An increasing number of people are using their mobile phones to access radio services, RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) has revealed.

According to figures compiled by the organisation, 13.5% of people accessed radio stations on their mobiles during the third quarter of this year, up from just 1.8% in 2002.

The growth was even more marked in the 18 to 24-year-old group, in which usage stood at 32.7%, up from 6% seven years ago.

Total digital radio listenership held at 21.1% in Q3, up from 18.7% in the same period last year, with 13.3% accessing stations via DAB, up from 11.3%.

However, digital usage still fell a long way behind the total AM/FM radio audience, which led the field at 66.1%, despite dropping from 68.4% in Q3 2008. Listening via digital TV reached 3.6% and the internet accounted for 2.2% of all radio usage.

The figures further revealed that 32.3% of all UK adults aged 15 or over now own a DAB radio set, up from 28.7% in the same period last year.

RAJAR found that 21.6% of users access the BBC's stations via DAB, up from 18.3% in Q3 2008, with 3% listening via digital TV, up from 2.4%. However, the majority (66.5%) of people still use AM/FM to access BBC Radio services.

Commercial radio stations also increased their digital radio audience to 20.2%, up from 18.9% in Q3 last year.