UK Edition
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An increasing number of people are using their mobile phones to access radio services, RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) has revealed.
According to figures compiled by the organisation, 13.5% of people accessed radio stations on their mobiles during the third quarter of this year, up from just 1.8% in 2002.
The growth was even more marked in the 18 to 24-year-old group, in which usage stood at 32.7%, up from 6% seven years ago.
Total digital radio listenership held at 21.1% in Q3, up from 18.7% in the same period last year, with 13.3% accessing stations via DAB, up from 11.3%.
However, digital usage still fell a long way behind the total AM/FM radio audience, which led the field at 66.1%, despite dropping from 68.4% in Q3 2008. Listening via digital TV reached 3.6% and the internet accounted for 2.2% of all radio usage.
The figures further revealed that 32.3% of all UK adults aged 15 or over now own a DAB radio set, up from 28.7% in the same period last year.
RAJAR found that 21.6% of users access the BBC's stations via DAB, up from 18.3% in Q3 2008, with 3% listening via digital TV, up from 2.4%. However, the majority (66.5%) of people still use AM/FM to access BBC Radio services.
Commercial radio stations also increased their digital radio audience to 20.2%, up from 18.9% in Q3 last year.
