Data: News takes record share of UK radio listening
February 5, 2026
By Nik Roseveare
News Broadcasting has achieved another set of standout RAJAR results for the survey period ending December 14th 2025. The group, including national brands talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK, Times Radio and Talk, as well as U105 in Northern Ireland, delivered a record market share of 4.5 per cent with 46 million listening hours, up 4.6 per cent year-on-year, and 6.2 million weekly listeners.
Scott Taunton, News UK EVP, President of Broadcasting, said: “These figures show News Broadcasting continuing to lead the market for digital listening and multi-platform innovation. Our digital engagement is unrivalled, with 86 per cent of listening hours delivered digitally, and we’re continuing to drive scale in video with News Broadcasting brands driving 383 million views on YouTube over the quarter. As excitement builds for what is likely to be the greatest ever World Cup in North America this summer, talkSPORT’s position as official FIFA audio rights partner will fully demonstrate its potential in audio and video in the UK and far beyond.”
The talkSPORT network continued to maintain its position as one of the leading sports brands, achieving 3.5 million listeners this quarter with talkSPORT recording 24 million listening hours, an increase by 13.5 per cent year-on-year. talkSPORT2 also recorded 460k listeners, tuning in for 1.3 million hours, an increase of 40.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
talkSPORT brought audiences live commentary from over 100 Premier League games, the New Zealand v England ODI series, the PDC World Darts Championships, and high profile boxing match ups between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr and Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley.
The quarter was dominated by World Cup fever following the qualification of both England and Scotland. The Drive team broadcasted live from New York and Washington ahead of the 2026 draw, featuring a live appearance from singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. talkSPORT also launched the hit new podcast How to Win a World Cup, hosted by comedian Matt Forde with former World Cup winners Emmanuel Petit and Kléberson. As a FIFA audio rights holder talkSPORT will broadcast all 104 matches at this year’s World Cup alongside the very best dedicated visualised shows from the US and wall-to-wall coverage of the biggest ever tournament.
On YouTube, talkSPORT has seen considerable growth in the past year. The main YouTube channel has achieved 412 million views, an increase of 13 per cent year-on-year, and 36.5 million hours watched, up 11 per cent year-on-year, illustrating its successful transition from a traditional radio station to an audio-visual sports media powerhouse. talkSPORT now runs 18 different YouTube channels and is available on CTV services.
Times Radio continues to set the news agenda with 542k weekly listeners, tuning in for 4.4 million hours. The station provided unrivalled coverage of the instability in global politics, including President Trump’s state visit and a special three-hour programme, co-presented by Jo Coburn and Andrew Neil, looking at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget.
News and opinion brand Talk achieved a standout quarter with a record 7 million listening hours, an increase of 39.1 per cent compared to the previous quarter, and 565k listeners. Talk remained at the heart of the national conversation with its Undercover Migrant documentary. The station provided a platform for hearty debate on a range of topics including Donald Trump’s Gaza peace deal, Trump’s Alaska summit with Russian President Putin, and the Labour government’s first Budget.
The Virgin Radio UK network reached 1.9 million listeners. As the home of ‘90s, 00s and bangers’, the network continues to deliver strong results, with Virgin Radio 80s recording 351k listening hours, an increase of 12.1 per cent year-on-year.
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with The National Lottery welcomed a stellar line-up of legends, including Jimmy Carr, Joanna Lumley, Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Julia Roberts, Adam Sandler and George Clooney. Music icons Jon Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams also joined the show, while the ‘Stool of Rock’ featured intimate performances from Madness and Sam Ryder. The start of the new year presents new opportunities for the station with a new weekday schedule welcoming former BBC Radio 6 DJ Huey Morgan, Emma B, Geoff Lloyd and Goldierocks. Additionally, Virgin Radio 90s will officially launch, and The Chris Evans Breakfast Show will begin televising from its new TFI Studio. This multi-platform growth is underpinned by strong engagement on social media, with the Virgin network recording 67.7 million views across all social channels in Q4, a 117 per cent increase year-on-year.
Northern Ireland’s U105 celebrated 20 years on-air recording a total reach of 227k listeners, an increase of 1.3The Chris Evans Breakfast show quarter-on-quarter and 2 million hours listened.
Meanwhile Global reports a strong set of RAJAR figures with record-breaking hours (288 million) and share (28.3 per cent) for Q4 2025, showing growth of 3 per cent and 5 per cent year-on-year respectively. With 29 million listeners every week, Global is the UK’s number one commercial radio group. Heart remained the UK’s biggest radio brand with a 12.7 million weekly listeners.