Rachel_Sandford
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While Chris Evans still reigns as #1 in the radio ratings war, his Radio 2 show taking in a weekly audience of 8.86million listeners a week, the latest Rajar figures show that 37-year-old rival Chris Moyles may be losing his touch, and losing it to 68-year-old John Humphries and the rest of the Today Programme hosts!
Moyles, who has been the host of the breakfast programme on Radio 1 and recently signed a new £1million deal with the BBC last July, had once attracted up to 8million listeners. Rajar now reports that he is only pulling in 7.24million, and in the last quarter of 2010, only brought in 200,000 more listeners.
This may seem like good numbers, but Radio 4's Today Programme is just less than 100,000 listeners behind. Pulling in 7.15million listeners per week in the last quarter of 2010, and with an increase of 500,000 listeners, John Humphries and the rest of his crew are close to overtaking Moyles for the first time ever.
Some analyse that the increase in Radio 4 figures is due to the economic crisis in Europe and the Middle East. People have a want and need for more serious news, which is not good news for Moyles whose contract requires he stays with the BBC till 2014. Already there are rumors that he is to be taken off the breakfast show, a programme that he has fronted for almost a decade.
According to Rajar, the BBC's 46 regional and local stations have had an improved weekly reach in the last quarter of 2011. Radio 4 saw a general increase, and now has 10.83million listeners a week. Radio 4 Extra, which was rebranded as Radio 7 has seen a 65% increase in listeners. Radio 6, which was under threat of being axed but saved by audience backlash now has 1.4million listeners. Radio Five Live, is the only one that saw a decrease, down by 12% year on year.
As a result of the positive figures, chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten announced that they would put back £10million of what it had planned to cut in order to meet budget constraints. Tim Davie, the BBC Audio boss said in a statement: “These figures illustrate the value listeners place on high- quality broadcasting.”
Rajar also released the statistics for digital radio, showing that though people are listening, the general population is slow to adjusting or making the switch. Audiences have increased from only 24.4% to 28.7%, despite improving technology. Add that to the fact that only 19.4% of the shows are done through digital audio broadcasting, and the government has already announced that the digital switchover is being moved from 2015 to 2017.
Moyles, who has been the host of the breakfast programme on Radio 1 and recently signed a new £1million deal with the BBC last July, had once attracted up to 8million listeners. Rajar now reports that he is only pulling in 7.24million, and in the last quarter of 2010, only brought in 200,000 more listeners.
This may seem like good numbers, but Radio 4's Today Programme is just less than 100,000 listeners behind. Pulling in 7.15million listeners per week in the last quarter of 2010, and with an increase of 500,000 listeners, John Humphries and the rest of his crew are close to overtaking Moyles for the first time ever.
Some analyse that the increase in Radio 4 figures is due to the economic crisis in Europe and the Middle East. People have a want and need for more serious news, which is not good news for Moyles whose contract requires he stays with the BBC till 2014. Already there are rumors that he is to be taken off the breakfast show, a programme that he has fronted for almost a decade.
According to Rajar, the BBC's 46 regional and local stations have had an improved weekly reach in the last quarter of 2011. Radio 4 saw a general increase, and now has 10.83million listeners a week. Radio 4 Extra, which was rebranded as Radio 7 has seen a 65% increase in listeners. Radio 6, which was under threat of being axed but saved by audience backlash now has 1.4million listeners. Radio Five Live, is the only one that saw a decrease, down by 12% year on year.
As a result of the positive figures, chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten announced that they would put back £10million of what it had planned to cut in order to meet budget constraints. Tim Davie, the BBC Audio boss said in a statement: “These figures illustrate the value listeners place on high- quality broadcasting.”
Rajar also released the statistics for digital radio, showing that though people are listening, the general population is slow to adjusting or making the switch. Audiences have increased from only 24.4% to 28.7%, despite improving technology. Add that to the fact that only 19.4% of the shows are done through digital audio broadcasting, and the government has already announced that the digital switchover is being moved from 2015 to 2017.