BBC Radio 2 loses million loyal listeners after Ken Bruce quits for Greatest Hits Radio. Here's what has happened

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

BBC Radio 2 recently lost more than a million loyal listeners who chose to follow veteran presenter Ken Bruce to a rival station. Ken Bruce left BBC Radio 2 for its arch-rival Greatest Hits Radio, and his fans followed him to the new channel, while tuning off from the BBC, The Gyardian reported quoting official audience data.

Ken Bruce was employed with BBC Radio for more than 30 years, serving as a stand-in presenter from 1980–83, and then as a mid-morning show presenter from 1984–2023. The radio personality instantly became popular with his soft style. His Popmaster music quiz also had a loyal fanbase amongst the British radio audience. However, the BBC failed to offer a better contract to Ken Bruce, as reported in The Guardian. As a result, the radio veteran quit BBC. He joined rival Greatest Hits Radio, again for a mid-morning show. His fans followed him there, especially since Ken Bruce made sure he could take the Popmaster quiz with him. He has owned the trademark for the quiz since the 1990s. Ken Bruce’s new show on Greatest Hits Radio reached 3 million listeners per week between April–June 2023, as per quarterly numbers from Rajar (Radio Joint Audience Research Limited). On BB Radio 2, Ken Bruce’s mid-morning show had 8.3 million listeners. The show, now presented by Vernon Kay on BBC, faced a slight drop to 6.9 million listeners. But Radio 2 is still the No.1 radio station in the UK. The Guardian reports Ken Bruce as saying that «it's not really about the numbers and it’s not, for me at least», but that he was 'delighted' to know about his new show’s numbers on Greatest Hits Radio. «My first four months have flown by and I've loved every minute of it – and there's much more to come,»