GB News Radio is the UK’s fastest growing commercial news station after it grew to almost 400,000 listeners a week, according to official RAJAR ratings figures released today.
The channel’s 25% growth beat all established news rivals including talkRADIO, LBC News UK, and Times Radio – all of whom lost listeners in the last quarter (Q3).
In the key Drivetime slot from 5-7pm, extending to Prime Time to 11pm, GB News Radio was the UK’s No1 commercial news station, winning bigger audiences than talkRADIO, LBC News and Times Radio.
GB News Radio’s audience is also tuning in for longer – the station’s total listening hours grew by an astounding 40%, beating LBC News for the first time.
GB News Radio, a simulcast of its television service, had 398,800 listeners a week for Q3 this year, up from 317,000 in the previous quarter.
Its most dramatic gains were in prime slots, where Michelle Dewberry at 6pm and Nigel Farage at 7pm both doubled their average radio audiences on the previous quarter.
Nigel Farage dominated the 7pm to 8pm slot to such an extent that he matched the combined total average audience of talkRADIO, LBC News and Times Radio.
Meanwhile in Drivetime, Patrick Christys, who presents his GB News show from 3pm to 6pm, increased his radio audience by 85%.
Further victories included Jacob Rees-Mogg at 8pm, whose radio audience grew 43% to double that of Piers Morgan’s listeners on talkRADIO.
Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster was also up 27% and Breakfast with Stephen Dixon and Anne Diamond at weekends grew 18%.
UK listeners now consume more than 3 million hours a week of GB News Radio.
Chief Executive Officer Angelos Frangopoulos said: “These results underscore the growth story of GB News across the board, whether it’s on television or online, where GBNews.com is the fastest growing news website in the country.
“GB News is making a real impact in the UK media landscape. Today’s data proves yet again that audiences across the UK simply love GB News.”
