RAJAR Q3/2025

What's happening with Heart, Radio 2 and GHR?

Thanks to Hallett Arendt’s Octagon software for giving me the data to help write this post.

Most people looking at the Heart Network’s latest RAJAR, out today, would see the drop in reach and assume the network is under pressure - it’s down 4.4% year on year, falling from 9.79 million to 9.36 million. That lines up with the mid-Q1 schedule changes, when many local presenters were replaced by more networked output from London.

But the data points towards a more nuanced picture. The decline is likely to have come from light listeners – those occasional tune-ins built around habit or local familiarity rather than deep loyalty. Fans of particular presenters may have followed them elsewhere or drifted to other stations that still ticks the local box.

What’s important is that the core audience has stayed put. While reach has fallen, hours have held steady, meaning the total amount of listening delivered to advertisers is broadly unchanged. That’s the figure that really matters to Global, as commercial radio mainly sells on hours rather than weekly reach.

So while the headline number looks softer, the commercial story is solid. Heart has fewer listeners overall but they are collectively spending the same amount of time with the brand - alongside a significant cost saving for the team at Leicester Square.

Taken together, the broader Heart Brand – which combines the main Heart Network with its digital spin-offs – remains steady. It reaches 12.8 million listeners each week, down 1.6% year on year, while total listening has increased 1.8% to 82.4 million hours. The Heart Network continues to account for most of that listening, delivering 59.3 million hours, or around 72% of the brand’s total. The spin-offs collectively contribute 23 million hours, expanding the brand’s overall footprint across digital platforms.

Within those extensions, Heart 80s remains the largest contributor, generating 6.3 million hours, followed by Heart Dance with 4.8 million and Heart 90s with 3.3 million. Of these, Heart Dance is the only service showing growth, with hours up 17% year on year and reach up 7%. The remaining stations – Heart 00s, Heart 70s, Heart Love, Heart Musicals and Heart 10s – are smaller, together providing a modest share of listening. Both Heart 70s and Heart 00s have seen reductions in reach and hours, while the newer services are still establishing their scale.

A quick mention of Heart 80s breakfast host Simon Beale, who’s recently been off-air because of a heart attack. He mentioned on Insta that the on-brand health issue wasn’t lost on him. Get well soon Simon and congratulations on your ratings being up quarter on quarter!

Heart’s total brand number has been bigger than BBC Radio 2 for three consecutive quarters (though a little mean to compare the network and eight spin offs with the one BBC station). Both now reach 12.8 million listeners each week, with Heart fewer than a thousand ahead of R2. It’s a narrow margin, yet it marks a sustained period where a commercial network has held the biggest weekly audience in UK radio. Radio 2 still leads comfortably on hours, delivering 132.7 million compared with 82.4 million for Heart Brand, so it continues to dominate in depth of listening and share.

Across Radio 2’s weekday schedule, this quarter Vernon Kay has edged up from 6.58 million to 6.61 million, while Sara Cox has risen from 5.53 million to 5.66 million. Those gains have helped offset softer results elsewhere: Scott Mills slipped from 6.22 million to 6.16 million, Jeremy Vine moved from 5.82 million to 5.71 million and Trevor Nelson dropped from 5.26 million to 5.20 million. All dayparts are down year on year, but modestly, suggesting the disruption caused by schedule changes and the GHR emergence may now be behind them.

Speaking of GHR, it hasn’t had a great year with the main network audience falling to 6.23 million, down from 7.43 million. Listening hours are also lower at 56.7 million, compared with 64 million this time last year. That continues the easing seen across recent surveys, with most weekday dayparts showing declines both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.

There are, however, some new additions to the network. The recently launched GHR 60s, 70s and 80s stations are now contributing meaningful listening, together accounting for around 6 million hours. When combined with the main network, the GHR Brand figure shows total hours holding steady year-on-year (–0.2%) and reach down by only 4%, compared with a 16% fall for the core network alone. That suggests the new services are helping to retain overall listening across the brand and supporting reach, even if they’re not yet generating major net growth.

Looking at the main schedule and comparing year on year, Breakfast reaches 2.9 million, down from 3.3 million a year ago. Ken Bruce stands at 3.45 million (down from 4m), while Kate Thornton delivers 3.01 million (down from 3.4m). Simon Mayo reaches 2.4 million (down from 2.8m), and Jackie Brambles sits at 493k (down from 526k).

At the older end Boom Radio’s reach has fallen back to 688k from 711k last quarter (and 700k year on year). It’s hours have dropped from the 11m outlier last quarter to a still healthy 9m (significantly up on 7.7m a year ago). They’ve also launched another station Boom Light - a station targeted even older! It’s debuted with 105k listeners and nearly a million hours. Its reach profile is 89.9% 65+ compared with Boom’s mere 78.9%.

• There’s more detail about more stations from Adam Bowie here

• Radio Today breaks down all the data and the spin!

AOB

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