11.7 million Brits now only listen to the radio in their cars
Key Points
- A record 11.7 million UK adults now listen to radio only in their cars, up 350% since 2006.
- One in five UK adults now listens to radio exclusively in the car.
- Cars, vans and lorries accounted for 26% of all UK live radio listening in Q1 2026, up 56% from 2006.
- DAB digital radio now powers 61% of UK in-car listening, compared to 33% analogue and 7% online.
- UK car owners are twice as likely as non-car owners to say they would miss radio if it were unavailable (61% vs 30%).
A record 11.7 million UK adults now listen to radio only in their cars, communications regulator Ofcom has found.
The figure has climbed 350% since Q1 2006, when 2.6 million adults relied on the car as their sole radio venue, equivalent to 5% of the UK population.
One in five UK adults now listens to radio only in the car, according to Ofcom’s Audio Listening in the UK 2026 report, published Wednesday (20 May). The growth has come despite the rise of music streaming and podcasts as in-car alternatives.
Cars, vans and lorries accounted for 26% of all live radio listening in the UK in Q1 2026, up 56% from 2006. Total radio listening fell 5% over the same period, with at-home listening hours dropping 17% from 742 million in 2006 to 619 million in 2026. In-car listening has effectively absorbed the hours lost from the home.
The technology powering in-car listening has also shifted over the last 20 years. DAB digital radio now accounts for 61% of in-car listening in the UK, with analogue at 33% and online at 7%, according to RAJAR data cited in the report.
The 2006 split was 20% DAB, 79% analogue and 1% online. Standard fitment of DAB receivers in new UK cars has driven the change.
The data shows that drivers are significantly more attached to radio than non-drivers.
Among UK car owners, 61% say they would miss the radio if it were no longer available, against 30% of non-car owners, according to IPA TouchPoints SuperHub data referenced in the report. 47% of car owners say they often have the radio on in the background for company, against 26% of non-car owners.
Car owners rely on radio for news at roughly double the rate of non-car owners. Some 37% of car owners said they rely on their radio station for breaking news against 18% of non-car owners, and 22% rely on local radio for local news against 11% of non-car owners.
Ofcom highlighted news provision as a key factor in why live radio has held in-car audience share even as music alternatives expand.
What people are listening to
The car remains a competitive battleground for audio. Live radio still dominates in-car listening at 71% share for UK adults aged 15 and over in 2025, but its share has slipped across every age group over the past three years.
Music streaming’s share has climbed to 19% of in-car audio overall and 39% among 15 to 34-year-olds, against 12% in 2022. Even among drivers and passengers aged 55 to 74, live radio’s share fell from 89% in 2022 to 83% in 2025, while music streaming nearly doubled from 4% to 7%.
In-car technology is expanding listener options. Touchscreens have grown in size and functionality, making it easier to connect a phone via cable or Bluetooth and stream music, podcasts or audiobooks.
Listening patterns in the car peak in the morning commute and again on school pick-ups in the late afternoon, with live radio and podcasts sharing similar morning peaks and music streaming spiking sharply between 5pm and 5.30pm.
“With more entertainment options in cars than ever before, it remains a key competitive environment for audio-only content,” Ofcom said in its report on Wednesday (20 May 2026).
