BBC Sounds continues to grow with an impressive 14.5% yearly increase in plays across all content whilst BBC Radio 4 and 5 Live see listener uplift thanks to news and sport
According to the latest RAJAR figures for the period (31 March – 22 June 2025), the BBC is still the number one radio brand with 31.1m people tuned in each week for live output across BBC's radio stations, with a share of 42.1%.
It was a good quarter for BBC speech stations with Radio 4 maintaining its position as the nation's most listened to speech network with well over 9 million listeners (up year on year) and increased audiences for BBC Radio 5 Live to 5.5m and 5 Sports Extra (816k), with a busy news and sport period. In this quarter, we witnessed the House of Common's vote on the assisted dying bill, the Supreme Court gender ruling, death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo, the ongoing trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Tr ump trade tariffs, and major retailers hit by cyber-attacks. The quarter included big sporting moments including the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League football plus a huge Eubank vs Benn fight and Rory McIlroy winning the Masters.
BBC Sounds data saw a record-breaking 696 million plays of all content across radio, podcasts and music mixes between April and June – an impressive 14.5% increase on the previous year. The uplift was fuelled by trusted news coverage and trending moments, from in-depth reporting on the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs to highlights from Radio 1 Big Weekend in Liverpool, and Glastonbury's Worthy Farm. Of the total plays, on-demand radio and podcast listening made up 257 million. According to RAJAR, podcast listening is at an all-time high with 16.3m of the UK population (15+) now listening to podcasts each week.
In music, Radio 1 and Greg James' breakfast show remain the number one choice for younger listeners aged 15-34. In May, Radio 1's Big Weekend in Liverpool celebrated some of the best of British music, with artists including JADE, Lola Young and headliners Tom Grennan, Sam Fender, and Mumford and Sons.
BBC Radio 2 firmly remains the UK's most listened to single radio station with an audience of 12.6m listeners each week. Radio 6 Music continues to be the most listened to digital only radio station with 2.6m listeners.
Mohit Bakaya, Director of Speech and Controller BBC Radio 4 says: '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.'
RAJARS – live listening in Q2 2025
BBC Radio 1 had 8m listeners aged 10+ and the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James (Mon-Fri) had 4.1m 10+ listeners.
BBC Radio 2 maintained its unrivalled popularity as the UK's number one station with 12.6m listeners
The BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show hosted by Scott Mills is the UK's most popular breakfast show (weekdays, 6.30am – 9.30am) with 6.2m listeners.
Vernon Kay continues to be the UK's most listened to radio show (weekdays, 9.30am – 12 noon) with an audience of 6.6m.
BBC Radio 3 had 1.9m listeners.
BBC Radio 4 had 9.2m listeners with 5.8m tuning in for The Today programme (Mon-Sat).
BBC Radio 5 Live posted a reach of 5.5m listeners.
BBC Radio 6 Music had 2.6m listeners. The 6 Music Breakfast Show hosted by Nick Grimshaw has a weekly audience of 1.3m.
BBC Radio 1Xtra had 727k listeners, BBC Radio 4 Extra had 1.5m, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra had 816k, and BBC Asian Network had 517k.
The BBC World Service was listened to by 1m people in the UK, and BBC Nations radio and Local BBC Radio in England had a combined audience of 6.9m.
BBC Sounds: April – June 2025
Data shows a weekly audience average of 4.8 million users across all devices, including the app and smart speaker devices. The busiest week of the quarter came on 31st March 2025, when BBC Sounds users peaked at 4.9 million. This coincided with the announcement of Donald Trump's tariffs, details of which were covered at length by top news podcasts Newscast and Americast – the first and second most-listened to podcasts this quarter respectively.
As the nation celebrates the Lionesses' victory at the UEFA Women's EUROs this week, The Tooney and Russo Show places third on the list of podcasts with the highest proportion of U35 audience. The podcast, which is fronted by two of football's best friends - Alessia Russo and Ella Toone - helped build excitement in the lead-up to the tournament and is also available in vision on BBC Sounds' YouTube channel.
Newscast and Americast continued to dominate the charts ranking as the first and second most-played podcasts this quarter, keeping audiences up to date on the latest headlines, from Donald Trump's tariffs to June's NATO summit and the election of the new Pope.
Newly launched Radio 4 podcast What's Up Docs? made its debut as the fourth most-popular on BBC Sounds this quarter. The podcast follows twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken as they explore the science behind everyday health, cut through confusing health advice, and share practical tips for living happier, healthier lives.
Diddy on Trial unpacked the twists and turns of the high-profile court case, proving popular with listeners aged under 35. It was the second-most listened to podcast among this age group and ninth across all audiences.
There was success for podcast acquisitions, with two titles from Noiser placing in the top ten most-played podcasts on BBC Sounds; Sherlock Holmes Short Stories was the third most popular podcast and Short History Of… placed at number six, and tenth among under 35s.
Radio 4 audio drama proved a hit, with the Limelight feed ranking as the fifth most-popular podcast on the platform, including the anticipated return of spy drama Central Intelligence, starring Kim Cattrall, Ed Harris and Johnny Flynn.
Listeners continue to enjoy catching up on-demand with Radio 4 as 8 of the top 10 most listened to programmes on BBC Sounds were from the network, including The Archers, Desert Island Discs, In Our Time and comedy favourite The Unbelievable Truth.
From BBC Radio 5 Live, Elis James and John Robins' award-winning series remained the most popular On-Demand radio programme for under 35s for the second quarter in a row. Elis and John was also the sixth most-listened to On-Demand radio programme overall, keeping fans of all ages entertained.
BBC Bitesize GCSE English Literature topped the charts for podcasts with the highest percentage of audience aged under-35, proving a helpful resource for young listeners sitting their GCSE English exams in May. Listeners could access in-depth analysis of poetry, literature and plays to support exam preparation.
The ever-popular Sleeping Forecast remained top of the list of music mixes, sending listeners off to sleep with its soothing soundtracks. Overall, BBC Sounds music mixes saw 3 million plays.
There was a total of 219 million downloads of BBC podcasts around the world this quarter, with the Global News Podcast ranked number one on third party platforms followed by 6 Minute English and The Documentary Podcast.
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