BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 hit record Rajar figures

Chris Evans'
breakfast show saw
a small fall in
listeners but he is
still ahead of his
rivals

BBC Radio 2 and
Radio 4 have
pulled in record
numbers of
listeners
according to the
newest figures
from Rajar.
An average
weekly audience
of about 15.44
million tuned into
Radio 2 while
Radio 4's
audience rose to
10.97 million a
week.
Chris Evans' Radio 2 breakfast show saw
its average weekly reach fall slightly from
9.8 million to 9.75 million.
Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw, who replaced
Chris Moyles, saw his average breakfast
audience climb to 5.88 million.
The figures are up from 5.78 million in
the first quarter of 2013, which
represented a drop of almost a million
following Moyles' departure.
At the time, Radio 1 said Grimshaw's
move to breakfast was part of a strategy
to lower the average age of its audience
to the station's target - the 15 to 24 age
group.
His latest figures are still far behind Radio
4's Today Programme's audience of 6.97
million.
The Asian Network, which was once
targeted for closure saw a rise in
listeners - its average audience reach
went up from 554,000 to 587,000 in the
first three months of the year.
While BBC 6 Music saw its weekly
audience dip slightly from 1.81 million to
1.79 million.
Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan said the
station's success was down to its
"distinctive high quality content".
BBC director of radio Helen Boaden said
the quarterly results were "testament to
the hard work of everyone involved with
the networks and they should be proud
of their efforts".