An alternative radio station once threatened with closure can, ironically, thank its brush with death for making a contribution to a resurgence in its fortunes. The radio channel broadcasts a selection of up and coming and niche acts which struggle to get playtime on the bigger commercial networks. A well publicised campaign to keep the station on air saw expansion in its average weekly audience to 1.2m in the quarter to the end of June.The free music station is now one of the better performing radio stations in the UK.

This represents a 17% increase on the prior quarter and an one hundred pc surge over the year. BBC Asian Network in the meantime, which still faces closure, raised its audience share by 22% year by year to reach 437k.

The newest RAJAR figures evealed radio had rose to its highest listening figures in more than ten years for the 3 months till the end of June. According to the new figures, released today, 46.8 million adults, or 90.6% of the UK population ( 15+ ), tuned in to their fave radio stations every week. Election coverage and the cup helped BBC Radio four, five Live and TalkSport to record audiences.