New figures from RAJAR and BBC Sounds show that BBC radio remains the UK’s number one audio brand, with 31.1 million people tuning in weekly for live output across its stations, giving it a 42.1% share of listening.
BBC Sounds recorded a record-breaking 696 million plays of all content – radio, podcasts and music mixes – between April and June 2025, a 14.5% increase on the previous year. On-demand radio and podcast listening accounted for 257 million plays, while podcast listening reached an all-time high of 16.3 million UK adults each week.
Speech stations performed strongly: Radio 4 maintained over 9 million listeners, up year on year; Radio 5 Live reached 5.5 million; and 5 Sports Extra had 816,000. The busy news period covered the assisted dying bill, the Supreme Court gender ruling, the death of Pope Francis, and Donald Trump’s tariffs, while sporting highlights included the FA Cup, Champions League football, and Rory McIlroy’s Masters win.
Radio 2 remained the UK’s most listened to single station with 12.6 million weekly listeners, Radio 1 stayed top for 15–34 year-olds, and Radio 6 Music led digital-only stations with 2.6 million. Top podcasts included Newscast, Americast, Diddy on Trial, The Tooney and Russo Show, and newly launched What’s Up Docs?.
Mohit Bakaya, Director of Speech and Controller of Radio 4, said: “I’m delighted to see Radio 4 and 5 Live continue to deliver for audiences with increased listening figures year on year. BBC Radio remains the number one UK radio brand and listeners continue to turn to us for trusted news and analysis, as well as the big sporting moments in the national calendar.”
