Radio 1 listeners at lowest level in over a decade

Listeners of BBC Radio 1 are now at their lowest level in over a decade, a new report says.

The new report, from Rajar (Radio Joint Audience Research), shows the station’s number of listeners has dropped by almost a million since this point last year, with figures at their lowest since Chris Moyles took the breakfast show slot from Sara Cox in 2003.

Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper said: “Rajars are only part of the picture for Radio 1, and our listeners should be seen alongside increases on our YouTube channel as it goes past one billion views and our growing social media platforms with over 8.5 million users.

“To focus solely on Rajars is similar to looking at how many newspapers have been sold without looking at their online presence or national influence.”

Nick Grimshaw’s breakfast show still rakes in 5.4 million listeners a week, unchanged since the start of 2016.