Radio advertising spending in the UK from 2011-2023

In 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, radio advertising spending in the United Kingdom amounted 577.1 million pounds. However, the industry managed to recover in 2021, with ad spend having grown by roughly a quarter to reach 720.1 million pounds that year. A year later, it increased by another three percent to exceed 740 million, only to fall by roughly three percent in 2023.

BBC radio reach higher than commercial

During the early stages of the pandemic, Classic FM was the most successful commercial radio station in terms of reach in 2020 in the UK. However, it was not the most successful overall. The top three radio stations in terms of reach in the UK in 2020 were BBC stations. BBC Radio 2 had the highest reach, followed by Radio 4 and then Radio 1.

Digital radio reach far from static

The way people listen to the radio has changed, with more and more people listening digitally. In the fist quarter of 2020, digital radio had a reach of 67 percent. That’s twice what it was ten years previous.