BBC 6 Music had more listeners than ever before in 2011

Just over a year since the BBC considered axing 6 Music, it has recorded its highest ever listening figures.

Statistics published by RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) on 2nd February have revealed that BBC 6 Music had more listeners in the final quarter of 2011 than they’ve ever had before.

With 1.44 million people tuning in to the station in the final quarter of 2011, the station was up from 1.23 million in the previous quarter. The figures also revealed that 6 Music currently holds 1.2% of the total radio audience.

The BBC notoriously considered axing 6 Music in 2010, but changed its mind when a huge backlash of public support for the station revealed its value. Although still dwarfed by larger stations such as Radio 1 and 2, 6 Music is now catching up with other radio giants, such as BBC Radio 3, which was shown in the latest statistics to account for 1.3% of the total audience.

Although the report showed that radio had experienced an overall drop of about 50,000 listeners, the figures also described 89.8% of the UK population as radio listeners, making it clear that plenty of us are still liking what we hear.

You might like