Digital radio has become a major part of radio consumption, but adoption is not measured in one way. Listening hours, weekly reach, household access, vehicle availability, population coverage and receiver sales describe different parts of the market.
The figures below focus on explicit periods and geographies, led by UK audience data and supplemented by European, Australian and emerging-market measures.
Key Digital Radio Statistics
The most useful headline measures include:
- 1.033 billion hours of live radio listening were recorded among UK adults aged 15+ in Q4 2024.
- 87.2% of UK adults aged 15+ reached radio weekly in Q4 2024.
- 76.8% of UK adults aged 15+ reached digital radio weekly in Q4 2024.
- 746 million listening hours per average week came from digital platforms in the UK in Q4 2024.
- 72.2% of UK radio listening hours were digital in the UK in Q4 2024.
- 62.3% of UK adults aged 15+ reached DAB weekly in Q4 2024.
- 441 million UK listening hours per average week came from DAB in Q4 2024.
- 42.7% of UK radio listening hours came from DAB in Q4 2024.
- 27% of UK households had a DAB radio set at home in 2024.
- 46% of UK households had access to a DAB radio set in the car in 2024.
- At least 96% of new cars sold across Europe included DAB+ as standard in 2024.
- More than 125 million DAB+ devices had been sold worldwide by 2024.
- France’s DAB+ population coverage reached 60% in 2024.
- Tunisia’s operating national multiplex covered 75% of its 11.7 million inhabitants in December 2024.
- Australia’s commercial DAB+ audience reached 4.7 million people in the first 2024 ratings.
- The UK had over 60 national DAB stations compared with seven on analogue in WorldDAB’s 2025 retrospective.
Contents
- UK digital radio reach and listening scale
- Digital radio listening trends by platform
- DAB ownership, in-car use and device adoption
- Digital radio growth across European markets
- DAB+ rollout, coverage and station choice
- Digital radio devices, cars and emerging markets
UK Digital Radio Reach and Listening Scale
RAJAR’s Q4 2024 measures show radio remains widely used among UK adults aged 15+, while digital platforms account for most radio listening hours. The measures cover live radio listening rather than all audio consumption.
| UK measure | Q4 2024 result | Population or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Live-radio listening | 1.033 billion hours | Adults aged 15+ |
| Weekly radio reach | 87.2% | Adults aged 15+ |
| Weekly digital-radio reach | 76.8% | Adults aged 15+ |
| Digital-platform listening | 746 million hours per average week | UK radio audience |
| Digital share of radio hours | 72.2% | UK radio listening |
Source: RAJAR DATA RELEASE Q4 24 – All Digital Radio Listening.
DAB was the largest named digital route in the same release. It reached 62.3% of UK adults aged 15+ weekly, generated 441 million listening hours in an average week and represented 42.7% of all UK radio listening hours in Q4 2024.
Website and app radio listening reached 24.9% of UK adults weekly, while smart-speaker radio listening reached 26.7%. These are audience-reach categories and can overlap, so they should not be added together.
Digital Radio Listening Trends by Platform
Ofcom’s UK 2024 media report provides a quarterly view of live-radio platform shares. DAB’s share was 40.4% in Q1 2019 and 42.6% in Q1 2024, while AM/FM fell from 43.6% to 27.0% across those two comparison points.
| Period | DAB share of live radio hours | AM/FM share where supplied |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2019 | 40.4% | 43.6% |
| Q2 2019 | 38.6% | — |
| Q3 2019 | 39.7% | — |
| Q4 2019 | 41.0% | — |
| Q1 2020 | 40.2% | — |
| Q3 2021 | 41.1% | — |
| Q4 2021 | 40.8% | — |
| Q1 2022 | 38.9% | — |
| Q2 2022 | 38.8% | — |
| Q3 2022 | 39.8% | — |
| Q4 2022 | 40.3% | — |
| Q1 2023 | 42.3% | — |
| Q2 2023 | 42.7% | — |
| Q1 2024 | 42.6% | 27.0% |
Source: Media Nations: UK 2024.
The Q1 2024 platform breakdown shows that online listening accounted for 28.0% of UK live radio hours. Smart speakers represented 16.6%, other online sources such as browsers and radio apps represented 11.2%, and DTV represented 2.6%.
Online listening was 21.9% of BBC radio listening in Q1 2024. That is a broadcaster-group measure, not a share of all UK radio listening.
Ofcom cautions that Covid-19 fieldwork suspension and later methodology changes make some quarter-to-quarter comparisons less direct. The series is therefore best read as a set of reported observations with that measurement history in mind.
DAB Ownership, In-Car Use and Device Adoption
Household access and audience behavior measure different stages of adoption. Ofcom’s Technology Tracker found that 27% of UK households had a DAB radio set in the home in 2024, while 46% had a DAB radio set in the car; the latter is access, not necessarily household ownership.
Overall DAB household ownership or access reached 57% in the UK in 2024. Ofcom combines home and car measures, and the categories can overlap.
WorldDAB’s cited UK audience research reported that DAB accounted for 57.5% of in-car listening in 2024. The same research reported a 7-percentage-point year-on-year rise from 2023 to 2024.
| Adoption measure | Result | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|
| DAB set in the home | 27% of households | UK, 2024 |
| DAB set in the car | 46% of households | UK, 2024 |
| Overall DAB home or car access | 57% of households | UK, 2024 |
| DAB share of in-car listening | 57.5% | UK, 2024 |
| Year-on-year in-car DAB change | 7 percentage points | UK, 2023–2024 |
Sources: Media Nations: UK 2024 and WorldDAB Automotive 2024: President’s opening address.
Across Europe, at least 96% of new cars sold included DAB+ as standard in 2024. WorldDAB noted that a small number of makes and models lacked data, so this is an industry estimate rather than a complete census of every sale.
Digital Radio Growth Across European Markets
European digital radio data often describes infrastructure or vehicle readiness rather than listening behavior. WorldDAB’s industry summary estimated that radio reached 84% of European citizens weekly in 2024, although the page does not fully detail the definition and market coverage behind that estimate.
| Market | Reported 2024 measure | Type |
|---|---|---|
| France | 60% DAB+ population coverage | Observed coverage |
| Germany | More than 70% second-multiplex population coverage after planned additions | Estimate |
| Austria | 14 stations on the new national multiplex at launch | Observed launch lineup |
| Spain | 60% population coverage target by end-2024 | Forecast |
| Spain | 3 million DAB+ receivers on the road | Industry estimate |
Source: WorldDAB Automotive 2024: President’s opening address.
The Spanish 60% figure was a target reported for the end of 2024, not a verified outcome. Similarly, Germany’s figure describes expected coverage after a planned site addition, so it should not be treated as a settled end-period measurement.
Australia provides an audience rather than coverage comparison. Commercial DAB+ radio listening reached 4.7 million people in the first 2024 ratings, and listeners aged 10–24 increased 5% to 899,000.
These figures cover commercial radio and the DAB+ device audience, not all radio listening.
DAB+ Rollout, Coverage and Station Choice
Tunisia illustrates how rollout statistics can move from project phases to national multiplex availability. The first DAB+ project phase covered about 51% of the population in 2019, and the second phase raised coverage to 75% by the end of 2020.
By the December 2024 country profile, Tunisia’s operating national multiplex covered 75% of the country’s 11.7 million inhabitants and hosted 18 DAB+ stations. All 18 listed programmes were simulcasts on AM/FM, with none listed as digital-exclusive.
| Tunisia DAB+ measure | Result | Period |
|---|---|---|
| First project phase coverage | About 51% of population | 2019 |
| Second phase coverage | 75% of population | End-2020 |
| Operating national multiplex coverage | 75% of 11.7 million inhabitants | December 2024 profile |
| Stations on national multiplex | 18 | December 2024 profile |
| Digital-exclusive programmes listed | 0 of 18 | December 2024 profile |
Source: Tunisia | Countries | WorldDAB.
Tunisia’s later plans were not all outcomes. The third phase was anticipated to reach 98% population coverage in 2026, while an earlier roadmap anticipated 95% by the end of 2022 and about 99% in 2023.
Those roadmap figures should remain labeled as forecasts, and the country profile warns that service pages may not be exactly up to date.
Digital Radio Devices, Cars and Emerging-Market Expansion
Receiver sales show accumulated hardware availability rather than current listening. WorldDAB reported more than 125 million DAB+ devices sold worldwide by 2024, with cumulative UK DAB+ receiver sales above 50 million in 2023.
Germany exceeded 25 million cumulative DAB+ receiver sales by 2023, while Italy exceeded 10 million. These are industry figures and describe cumulative sales, not unique current owners or active listeners.
| Market or scope | Cumulative DAB+ receiver measure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | More than 125 million devices sold | By 2024 |
| United Kingdom | More than 50 million receivers sold | 2023 |
| Germany | More than 25 million receivers sold | 2023 |
| Italy | More than 10 million receivers sold | 2023 |
Source: WorldDAB Automotive 2024: President’s opening address.
Emerging-market launches add station-count context. Senegal’s DAB+ pilot launched with 32 stations across two multiplexes in Dakar in 2024, while Bahrain launched DAB+ with 10 stations during the 2023–2024 launch period.
WorldDAB’s 2025 retrospective compared more than 60 national stations on UK DAB with seven on analogue. Because station counts can change over time, this is a retrospective comparison for the stated period rather than a permanent market total.
Together, these figures separate three outcomes that are often conflated: whether digital radio is technically available, whether receivers are present, and whether people actually listen. Coverage and station counts describe supply, receiver sales describe accumulated equipment, and RAJAR or ratings measures describe audience behavior within their stated definitions.