How much audio do we consume? What percentage of that is radio? How much talk radio do we consume? What is the BBC’s audience share of all that audio – and why is it declining? Such questions have never dominated so much. These past weeks have seen Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams prepare to step down, and John Humphrys announce his 32-year tenure on Today is coming to a (reluctant) end. Rajar figures revealed that Radio 4’s weekly reach fell by three quarters of a million listeners, from 11.25 million in the last quarter of 2017 to 10.48 million in the same period last year (the World Service, however, is on the up).
“Radio is over,” someone chimed on The Media Show, discussing uninterested younger listeners and replenisher audiences. Oh, for the fugue state of the podcast, went the discussion, where chatter is more relaxing! Only on podcasts can we hide from half-hour bulletins and Brexit talk. Good news for the former Labour minister James Purnell’s podcast-centric app BBC Sounds. Bad news for Today, the success (or not) of which “sets the agenda” and keeps listeners parked for the rest of their lives on Radio 4… or so the thinking has long been.
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