Global Releases RAJAR Results Q4 2024

Global has seen another consecutive quarter of growth, its sixth in a row, outperforming the commercial radio market and delivering another incredibly strong set of RAJAR figures (Quarter 4 2024, 16th September 2024 - 15th December 2024), with more than 29.2 million (29.24 million) people tuning in each week to Global’s brands with gains in reach and share in both the last quarter and year-on-year. 

The most popular commercial radio group in the UK, Global has maintained its best-ever share of 26.9%, with listeners enjoying 279 million hours of radio from brands including Capital, Heart, LBC, Smooth, Radio X and Classic FM.    

Here are some more key headlines:   

GLOBAL  

• With a huge record-breaking 29.2 million listeners tuning in to Global’s radio brands each week, it is the number one commercial radio company in the UK.  
• Global’s share is 26.9%.  
• Hours are 279 million, cementing its position as the UK’s most popular commercial radio group.    
• Global has the UK’s biggest commercial radio brands with Heart, Capital and Smooth - numbers one, two and three for reach. 
• New stations have proved a hit with listeners as Capital Anthems launches with 440,000 and Smooth 80s strikes the right note with more than half a million listeners, launching with 533,000. 
• In London, Global has the top three commercial stations for reach, hours and share - Heart, Capital & LBC.  

HEART 

• Heart strengthens its position as the number one commercial radio brand as it celebrates another record-breaking score with more than 13.3 million weekly listeners, having added 1.8 million in the last year and increasing in reach, hours and share quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.    
• In London, Heart now reaches 2.1 million listeners. 
• The Heart brand has 5.8 million more listeners than Radio 1.  
• Heart Breakfast celebrates 4.2 million weekly listeners. Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden host the UK’s biggest commercial breakfast show. 
• The Heart Decade stations have been dialling up the nostalgia for listeners: 80s (1.9 million), Heart 00s (1 million) have achieved their highest listening figures to date, increasing in reach, hours and share in the last year. Heart’s new decade station Heart 10s sees 292,000 weekly listeners in its first RAJAR.  
• Heart launched brand-new stations last September, which are proving a hit with listeners already, with a strong first set of RAJAR cards - Heart Musicals opens with 134,000 weekly listeners and Heart Love attracts 201,000 people each week.  

CAPITAL  

• The UK’s no.1 hit music brand reaches 9.7 million weekly listeners adding more than 1.7 million listeners in the last year.  
• Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Siân Welby reaches a huge 2.9 million listeners. The show is up in all metrics year-on-year, adding 482,000 listeners in the last year.  
• It’s a fantastic quarter for Capital Anthems which sees a huge 440,000 listeners in its first book since it launched last September.  
• Capital Dance sees its highest ever figures with 1.2 million listeners tuning in to the UK’s official dance station every week, increasing in reach, hours and share year-on-year.  
• Capital XTRA, home to the biggest hip-hop and RnB, reaches 2.1 million listeners across the UK every week. It has 1.2 million more listeners than the audience of BBC Radio 1Xtra, and has increased in reach year-on-year. It is bigger in reach, hours and share than Kiss.  

SMOOTH  

• Smooth celebrates its highest ever audience figures, with more than 7.8 million people listening each week, adding 1.7 million in the past year. Smooth’s reach and hours have increased quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.  
• In the first set of RAJAR results since launching last year, Smooth 80s reaches 533,000 weekly listeners, Smooth 70s reaches 317,000 and Smooth Soul reaches 206,000. 

CLASSIC FM 

• Classic FM is the UK’s number one classical music station with an audience of 4.5 million weekly listeners. 
• Classic FM Calm and Classic FM Movies - brand-new stations for Classic FM which launched last year - reach 238,000 and 154,000 weekly listeners respectively. 

LBC 

• LBC, the UK’s leading commercial news talk brand, reaches 3.4 million people each week, adding 361,000 listeners in the past year. 
• Every LBC weekday daytime programme - Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, James O’Brien, Shelagh Fogarty, Tom Swarbrick, Tonight with Andrew Marr and Iain Dale - has increased in reach, hours and share year-on-year. 
• LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast celebrates its highest ever audience figures with 1.5 million listeners and is London’s number one commercial breakfast show in hours and share. 
• LBC News, the UK’s only rolling news radio station, reaches 974,000.  

RADIO X  

• Radio X celebrates its highest ever weekly reach with more than 2.4 million listeners tuning in every week - a mammoth one million more listeners than Virgin Radio - adding 262,000 listeners in the last year.  
• The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X continues to reach 1.1 million listeners every morning. 
• Radio X Classic Rock now reaches 216,000 listeners weekly, up in reach and hours quarter-on-quarter. 
• Back in September, Radio X launched its brand-new decade stations '90s and '00s providing guitar-based nostalgia. Radio X '90s sees 129,000 weekly listeners and Radio X 00s reaches 133,000 listeners. Radio X Chilled also celebrates debut figures, bringing in 129,000 listeners per week. 

MORE FROM GLOBAL  

• Gold Radio has a weekly audience of more than 1.7 million people. 
• Capital XTRA Reloaded reaches 600,000 listeners each week, increasing across all metrics year-on-year. 
• The EE Official Big Top 40 from Global is the UK’s biggest chart show and has a weekly listenership of 1.8 million tuning in every week across Capital and Heart, increasing in all metrics year-on-year. 

Ashley Tabor-King CBE, founder and executive president of Global, said,  “To have a sixth consecutive quarter of growth is frankly incredible and not something we would ever take for granted. Radio really is at the heart of so many people’s lives every day – in the home and on the move. Smart speakers have made it easy to access our content, and investment in entertainment apps like our own Global Player means people can reach a whole new world of digital content from our brands. The fact that so many people choose to be with our brands, which are truly thriving, with Heart, Smooth and Radio X all delivering record-breaking numbers, is an enormous privilege. Thank you to all the Globallers who work across our radio stations - you are a very special group of people, truly the best in the business.”  

James Rea, chief broadcasting and content officer at Global, said, “It’s fantastic to start the year with such a strong set of numbers for Global - a sixth consecutive record! I’m especially pleased for the team at Heart breaking through the 13 million listener mark which is such a wonderful achievement. Well done once again to the amazing team we have at Global.”