Listening figures for Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show have fallen to their lowest point since he took over as presenter, it has been revealed.
According to new figures recorded by audience research body RAJAR, Grimmy lost more than half a million listeners over a three-month period, with fewer than five million people tuning in weekly across the third quarter.
As reported by the BBC, 4.93 million weekly listeners were recorded from July to September, down from 5.5 million earlier this year, the lowest figures drawn in by the Radio 1 Breakfast Show since Chris Moyles broadcast his final show in 2012.
Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper has brushed off the slump, standing by Grimmy and insisting the station is still “the most relevant youth brand in the UK today”.
A BBC insider added: “Grimmy is the number one Breakfast Show in the UK for young audiences and that’s all they really care about.
“Teens are addicted to their phones so you can see why Radio 1 does so well on YouTube and Facebook.”
It’s not all bad news for the Beeb, though, with Chris Evans’ show in the same timeslot on Radio 2 seeing an increase in listeners to 9.4 million, up from the 9.1 million listening in July.
Grimmy’s predecessor, Chris Moyles, has seen growth for the viewing figures for his breakfast show on Radio X, but they’re still a long way off his glory days at Radio 1, at 823,000 listeners.
Meanwhile Roman Kemp has also seen an increase of 300,000 for his first full quarter at the helm of Capital Radio’s show in the same time slot.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Nick Grimshaw was the highest-paid presenter on Radio 1, with Chris Evans among the broadcaster’s top earners overall.