Digital radio listening figures to be made public

New light will be shed on digital radio takeup next year when digital listening figures for all radio stations are made public for the first time. Under existing rules for the audience research body Rajar , radio stations are only allowed to talk publicly about their own digital listening. It is an option predictably taken up by those with something to shout about, such as Absolute Radio , but less so by some other broadcasters. However, under the proposed rule change, broadcasters will be able to compare their digital takeup with rival stations in marketing material and pitches to advertisers and agencies. It will shed new light on which stations are the digital frontrunners – and who are the switchover bed-blockers. Absolute's chief operating officer, Clive Dickens, alluded to the change at the Radio Festival in Salford last week . Just under 40% of Absolute's total audience comes from digital, rising to 55% when listeners to its London FM licence are excluded. Such has been Absolute's digital success that Dickens said the station was actively looking to dump its analogue signal by the end of 2015. "If we continue at the current trajectory ahead of the industry and monetise it in the way we are doing now, we would be more than happy to go it alone [on digital]," he added. Digital currently accounts for just under a quarter – 24.6% – of all radio listening, the lion's share of that via digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio. That figure is likely to grow when the latest Rajar audience figures , for the third quarter of this year, are published tomorrow. Absolute is among those mainstream stations with most digital listening, but rivals' digital listening lags behind the industry average. They are thought to include BBC Radio 2, which was ordered to do more to encourage digital takeup by the BBC Trust earlier this year. A spokeswoman for Rajar said it remained a proposal at this stage and was yet to be approved by subscribers. But if it is given the go-ahead the more detailed digital figures could be regularly in the public domain by the first quarter of next year. The industry and government is targeting a 2015 radio switchover date , but only if digital radio accounts for more than 50% of all listening by the end of 2013. At the current rate of growth it will never happen, one senior industry executive said last week . • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".