"Global today (14th May, 2026) reported a strong set of RAJAR listening figures for Q1 2026, delivering 29 million weekly listeners, 279 million listening hours and a 27.7% share. Across the UK, radio remains a key part of daily life. According to RAJAR, radio reaches more than 50 million adults across the UK every week."
"Global remains the UK's biggest commercial radio group with a total weekly reach of 29 million listeners across its portfolio of stations. Global's news talk brand LBC has recorded its biggest ever audience with a huge record-breaking 3.6 million people tuning in across the UK every week. Heart is again the UK's biggest commercial radio brand, drawing 12.5 million weekly listeners."
"Global has the top three commercial radio brands with Heart, Capital and Smooth. It also has the top two commercial breakfast shows (Heart and Capital), and the top three commercial stations in London with Heart, LBC and Capital. Capital reaches 8.8 million weekly listeners with its hit music format, outperforming Radio 1 by more than 1.4 million weekly listeners."
"Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden has 4.3 million weekly listeners, adding 172,000 new listeners in the last quarter. Capital Breakfast with Jordan, Chris and Siân has 2.8 million weekly listeners and has increased in reach, hours and share year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. With major international news events falling within the RAJAR reporting period, LBC has added 148,000 listeners in the past quarter."
RAJAR figures for Q1 2026 show 29 million weekly listeners, 279 million listening hours, and a 27.7% share for Global across the UK. Radio reaches more than 50 million adults every week. Global is the biggest UK commercial radio group by weekly reach. LBC records its biggest ever audience, with 3.6 million people tuning in weekly. Heart is the biggest commercial radio brand with 12.5 million weekly listeners. Global holds the top three commercial radio brands, the top two commercial breakfast shows, and the top three commercial stations in London. Capital reaches 8.8 million weekly listeners, outperforming Radio 1 by more than 1.4 million. Other brands including Radio X, Smooth, Classic FM, Gold, and Classic FM Calm add to the overall reach, while Heart Breakfast and Capital Breakfast show continued growth.
Read at Exchangewire
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]