![The Today programme on BBC Radio 4 with Mishal Hussein and Nick Robinson](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2023/05/17/TELEMMGLPICT000313316870_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqOnF-pGyuMayIW5_daymjxo4x-FSwrDT9y5PSx0UCiAQ.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Radio 4 loses 1.2 million listeners in a year as Today programme ratings drop
Flagship breakfast show registered 5.76 million listeners in the first quarter of 2023, believed to be its lowest audience since 1999
![The Today programme on BBC Radio 4 with Mishal Hussein and Nick Robinson](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2023/05/17/TELEMMGLPICT000313316870_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqOnF-pGyuMayIW5_daymjxo4x-FSwrDT9y5PSx0UCiAQ.jpeg?imwidth=680)
BBC Radio 4 has lost more than a million listeners in the past 12 months, as the flagship Today programme suffered a dramatic ratings decline.
The breakfast news show registered only 5.76 million listeners in the first quarter of 2023, believed to be its lowest audience since 1999.
Five years ago, Today had a record audience of 7.82 million.
The poor showing for the breakfast programme was part of a general slump for Radio 4, which has lost 1.2 million listeners - 11.4 per cent of its total audience - in the past year, according to figures released by the industry body Rajar.
The current audience of 9.39 million is the station’s lowest since 2007.
Listeners have complained that long-running shows such as Desert Island Discs and The Archers have lost their appeal, while Radio 4’s comedy output has been criticised as stale.
The BBC refuses to give out audience figures for any of its radio programmes, preferring to keep them secret from licence fee payers.
However, Rajar releases breakfast show figures, which showed that the Today programme’s audience has dropped from 6.55 million to 5.76 million in the space of a year, a drop of nearly 800,000.
Ratings have fallen since the departure of John Humphrys in 2019. Sarah Sands, the programme’s editor, left the following year.
![John Humphrys](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2023/05/17/TELEMMGLPICT000329335261_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Sands was replaced by an executive editor, Owenna Griffiths, amid several changes to the BBC’s news operation. Content, including interviews, is now shared between different shows across radio and television, leading to suggestions that Today has lost its edge.
Few Cabinet ministers now appear in the once coveted 8.10am interview slot. Presenters regularly host the show from different parts of the country, and some of the news items have baffled listeners.
Wednesday morning’s programme closed with a feature about Beyoncé, presented by a journalist from the NME and likened on social media to someone reading out their school project.
Responding to the figures, the BBC said: “Millions of listeners tune into the Today programme each morning to hear trusted, in-depth reporting and agenda-setting interviews.
“Audience figures fluctuate for many reasons, particularly for news programmes, where significant stories and events in the UK and around the world will have an impact.”
The BBC said that Rajar’s methodology for collecting listening figures changed in 2021, which should be considered when making historical comparisons. However, ratings have been in steady decline since then.
Radio 2 remains the UK’s most popular station with 14.46 million listeners, slightly down (0.8 per cent) on the previous year. Radio 3’s audience fell by 5.9 per cent to 1.93 million.
Greatest Hits Radio saw its audience rise from 4.18 million to 5.3 million, while Boom Radio’s audience rose from 290,000 to 635,000. Both stations have positioned themselves as stations for older listeners and an alternative to Radio 2.
Boom Radio’s presenters have an average age of 68 and include former BBC DJs David Hamilton and Kid Jensen.
Despite the exodus of listeners, Radio 4 was named Station of the Year at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards earlier this month.
Mohit Bakaya, controller of Radio 4, said: “Radio 4 is an incredible public square, bringing the nation together, whether on air or on Sounds, to listen to brilliant, thought-provoking current affairs, news, comedy, documentaries, arts, drama and factual programmes and podcasts.
“At a time when the threats of disinformation, AI polarisation and fragmentation threaten our civic fabric, I think the station is more important than ever.”