Down

When looking at trends in statistics, the choice of start and end point can be a cheeky way to get favourable results.  In radio audience figures, I was always advised to look at year-on-year figures as the best guide to performance. The official measurers, RAJAR, changed their methodology in Quarter 3 2021, so today's figures offer the first 'proper' year on year changes. And yet.  2021 saw a summer of release from Covid, with 75% of people in England vaccinated, and an end to self-isolation for the double vaccinated. Summer listening was still odd; for many stations, peak time moved to mid-morning, with many people still working at home, and, frankly, getting up later. 

Again, the end of June to mid-September this year were atypical for news, which usually closes down from the end of Wimbledon.  The major sporting event was the tournament to replace Boris Johnson, with only 6,000 Conservative party members allowed full access to the paddock. 

So it would be dangerous to establish definite trends today. BBC Director of Content and current Guardian of Radio, Charlotte Moore had to look to Radio 1 for her highlight - 880,000 extra listeners, when you move the goalposts to include those over 10. On the standard aged 15+ measure, the station is 1.28% down, year on year. Elsewhere on Charlotte's patch,  Radio 1Xtra's reach is down 18% year on year, Radio 3 is down 21%, Radio 4 is down 9% and Radio 5Live down 17%. 

Beyond Charlotte's official purview, Radio Wales is down 22%, Radio Cymru 11%, Radio Scotland 19%, and Radio Ulster 9%. BBC Local Radio is down 14%. 

It is possible to say that all speech radio is off the top. Maybe the politics was a tv story; maybe radio listeners took refuge in the popular music offerings of commercial radio. Maybe it's easier to say "Alexa, play The Carpenters", rather than "Alexa, provide me with an audio biography of Liz Truss". Maybe its all explained by podcasts. Explanations (polite) welcomed in comments.