Radio industry facing decline, says Worcester

The radio industry is facing the double
threat of declining audiences and declining advertising on commercial
radio, according to Sir Robert Worcester, the founder of polling firm Ipsos MORI.

His comments are part of a presentation to
be made later today at the Radio Academy Festival in Cambridge.

Worcester said: “Radio listening is near
saturation, only growing as the population grows. Nine in ten young people
listen regularly. Those over 65 have more time yet fewer listen. Radio listeners
are declining and it is commercial radio that takes the hit.”

Local radio advertisers do not seem to be interseted in older audiences, in spite of the fact that the half of Britain's adult population over the age of 45 has 80 per cent of the wealth, Worcester argues.

Worcester also warned that Internet growth is tapering off and that use of the medium is also skewed toward younger people.

While nearly 80 per cent of those under 45 are on the internet, this falls to 60 per cent of those between 55-64 and down to just a quarter of those over 65.

Among those over 65, fewer than 13 per cent of skilled working-class or those living on state pension are on the internet, along with just 40 percent in the professional- or managerial-class people.