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Music fans 'prefer old chart hits'

Hits ain't what they used to be - as radio audience figures show that listeners to the BBC's chart countdown are dwarfed by those for a weekly run-down of vintage hits.

Latest figures show the Radio 1 chart programme, which over the years has prompted generations to tune in on a Sunday evening to hear the big sellers, has hundreds of thousands fewer listeners than the hits of yesteryear featured in Radio 2's Pick Of The Pops.

The Official Top 40 show - from which presenter Jameela Jamil has recently announced she is stepping down - draws 1.3 million, while Radio 2's show has an audience of 2.1 million.

Pick Of The Pops - hosted by presenter Tony Blackburn, famously the first presenter on air when Radio 1 launched in 1967 - usually features two vintage charts each week to revisit past hits. He took over the show from Dale Winton in 2010, and it has also been presented by the late Alan Freeman.

For many years the Radio 1 chart was the only way to hear the big sellers of the week, prompting many people to tape the entire run-down, although modern audiences can now find the tracks on YouTube or streaming services such as Spotify whenever they want.

The figures, which come from radio data compiled by audience research body Rajar, show younger listeners have not entirely lost their appetite for the chart hits of the day.

The Vodafone Big Top 40, which is broadcast on the Capital network at the same time the BBC broadcasts the Official Singles Chart each Sunday, has a weekly audience of 2.6 million.

Source: www.msn.com
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