RAJAR: Scott Mills’ Radio 2 exit had no impact on listening figures despite his £745,000 earnings
Latest RAJAR results say Scott Mills' exit had no impact on listening figures for The Radio 2 Breakfast Show.
When Scott Mills was sensationally sacked by the BBC back in March, his immediate and shock departure from The Radio 2 Breakfast Show stunned the industry and the public. But the latest official radio ratings released today, known as RAJAR, reveal his exit had no negative impact on listening figures whatsoever.
That may surprise you, given he was the highest paid presenter at the BBC, with a whopping £745,000 annual salary.
The figures reveal that in the last quarter of the year, Radio 2 Breakfast reached 6.37 million listeners, which was actually up 3% year on year.
Between Mills’ exit and The Sara Cox Breakfast Show launching in June, it was Gary Davies who held the fort, keeping listeners loyal to the station and to the Breakfast Show slot. His reward? He’s now Coxy’s official deputy, standing in for her whenever she takes leave. His popular Sounds of the 80’s programme has also been shifted forward from a late night slot to a primetime slot on Saturdays. In contrast to Mill’s huge earnings, Davies is paid between £178,000 and £184,999 according to the latest figures issued by the corporation.
BBC Radio 2 remained the UK’s most listened to single radio station, reaching 12.37 million people each week. While Vernon Kay continued to host the UK’s most listened-to radio programme, growing to 6.78 million, its highest reach since Q3 2024. Radio 2 listeners spent more than 11 hours with the station each week, the highest figure in almost four years.
Elsewhere at the BBC, BBC 6 Music, recently crowned Station of the Year at the Music Week Awards, reached 2.59 million listeners each week and retained its position as the UK’s most listened-to digital-only radio station. The 6 Music Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw reached 1.29 million listeners, up 3% year on year and 2% quarter on quarter.
BBC Radio 1 increased its total brand reach to 8.23mlisteners aged 10 and over (7.55m 15+), up from 7.97m last quarter with Radio 1 Dance reaching 713k 10+ (615k 15+), up from 505k last quarter, and Radio 1 Anthems reaching 623k 10+ (584k 15+) up from 433k last quarter. Radio 1 reached 7.43m 10+ (6.90m 15+). Greg James continues to lead with the number one breakfast show for young listeners with 4.06m (10+) tuning in this quarter.
It was a strong set of results across the industry, with Global’s Heart continuing as the UK’s No.1 commercial radio station, and strong figures at Capital, Kiss and Radio X too.
Virgin Radio’s listeners remain stable but its digital reach has swelled by over 100%, with the station reporting some 99million online views for its content, which now includes the TFI Unplugged strand. It’s likely to stimulate a trend in the coming months from other stations to increase their visual output.
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