Page last updated at 10:08 GMT, Thursday, 1 May 2008 11:08 UK

More tune in to Moyles and Wogan

Terry Wogan and Chris Moyles
Both hosts have reached record numbers in 2008

Audiences for BBC breakfast DJs Chris Moyles and Terry Wogan are continuing to rise, according to the latest figures from radio industry body Rajar.

Wogan, known to his Radio 2 fans as the Togmeister, now has 8.1m listeners, while Radio 1's Moyles has 7.72m.

Radio 2 is still the UK's most popular station, with 13.63m listeners.

Rajar revealed that nearly one third of radio audiences use digital radio once a week, and that sales of DAB receivers rose by 40% over the last year.

Partly because of digital listening, BBC radio notched up a new listening record.

AUDIENCE FIGURES JAN-MAR 2008
Radio 1 - 11.06m (10.54m)
Radio 2 - 13.63m (13.25m)
Radio 3 - 1.79m (1.90m)
Radio 4 - 9.56m (9.63m)
5 Live - 6.02m (5.87m)
Classic FM - 5.62m (6.03m)
Virgin - 2.70m (2.44m)
Source: Rajar
Figures in brackets are for the same period in 2007

In the first three months of this year, 34.22 million people tuned in to one of the corporation's stations each week - up from 33.46 million in the same period last year.

The most competitive radio market is in London, where Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott's breakfast show on Heart FM remains number one with 893,000 listeners.

They beat Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan on rival station Capital, despite a blaze of publicity for the former Big Breakfast presenters.

Capital - for many years London's leading radio station, has now slipped to fourth in the battle of the city's stations, having been beaten by easy listening station Magic in first place - which claims 1.92 million listeners each week - Heart, and dance station Kiss.

Digital doubts

In the first three months of the year, 18% of all listening was via a digital receiver, mostly through DAB sets.

BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas said Rajar's latest figures may help to quell doubts within the industry about digital radio.

GCap Media, the firm which owns Classic FM and local stations such as London's Capital and BRMB in Birmingham, has announced plans to close two digital stations.

One of the stations, Planet Rock - which Rajar says has 563,000 listeners each week - has stayed on air while talks continue to sell the station.

And earlier this week, the BBC's director of audio and music, Jenny Abramsky warned that radio would die if there was not concerted action to enhance digital broadcasting.

The Rajar figures are compiled on behalf of both the BBC and the commercial stations.


SEE ALSO
Two GCap digital stations closed
11 Feb 08 |  Business
Radio audience dips during summer
25 Oct 07 |  Entertainment
Digital radio draws 12m listeners
16 Aug 07 |  Entertainment
Digital radio gets audience boost
11 May 06 |  Entertainment

RELATED BBC LINKS

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites


FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS
Has China's housing bubble burst?
How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire
Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

AmericasAfricaEuropeMiddle EastSouth AsiaAsia Pacific