Industry reference
UK broadcast guide
Who listens, who watches, and how UK radio and TV is organised. We update it after each RAJAR release and as Barb publishes new monthly figures.
Radio in numbers
Source: RAJAR, Q2 2026 (6 April to 28 June 2026). Commercial 55.1%, BBC 42.6%.
The major radio groups
| Group | Main stations | Weekly reach |
|---|---|---|
| BBC | Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio 1, Radio 5 Live, plus local stations across England and the nations | Radio 2: 12.4m Radio 4: 9.3m Local Radio: 6.9m |
| Global | Heart, Capital, LBC, Smooth, Classic FM, Radio X. The largest commercial group, with 24.9% of all listening | Heart: 12.8m Capital: 8.8m |
| Bauer | Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, KISS, Magic, Absolute Radio, with 19% of all listening | Hits Radio: 12.2m Greatest Hits: 6.8m |
| News Broadcasting | talkSPORT, Times Radio, Talk, Virgin Radio UK | Group: 6.4m talkSPORT: 3.7m |
Source: RAJAR, Q2 2026. Hits Radio, Heart and Capital figures are for each brand’s full network.
Types of radio station
BBC national
Radio 1, 2, 4 and 5 Live reach millions each week and book guests through dedicated programme teams.
WantsStrong national stories and recognised experts
BBC local and nations
Local stations across England plus BBC Scotland, Wales and Ulster, with long speech-led programmes.
WantsA local figure, a local case study, live phone guests
Commercial networks
Heart, Capital, Hits Radio and Greatest Hits share national programmes but keep local news and breakfast shows.
WantsShort, light, quick-turnaround items and prizes
Talk and news
LBC, Times Radio, talkSPORT and GB News run phone-ins and debate across the day.
WantsExpert voices with a clear point of view
Community radio
Not-for-profit stations licensed by Ofcom to serve a town, city or community of interest, run largely by volunteers.
WantsReady-made features and useful local information
Small-scale DAB and online
A growing tier of local digital stations on new small-scale DAB multiplexes being licensed by Ofcom.
WantsFree, ready-to-air content to fill the schedule
UK television
| Broadcaster | Channels with guest slots | Monthly reach |
|---|---|---|
| BBC | BBC One regional news, BBC Breakfast, BBC News channel | 45.0m (69%) |
| ITV | ITV regional news, Good Morning Britain, This Morning, Lorraine | 37.9m (58%) |
| Channel 4 | Channel 4 News, factual and features | 34.9m (54%) |
| Sky | Sky News | 32.0m (49%) |
| Channel 5 | Channel 5 News and daytime programmes | 29.8m (46%) |
Source: Barb, August 2026, viewing on TV sets, people aged 4+ in UK TV and broadband homes. Reach is for each broadcaster’s full family of channels. Broadcast TV overall reached 53.5m people that month, who watched an average of 1 hour 53 minutes a day.
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