Nick Grimshaw Breakfast Show audience down 1m since taking over from Chris Moyles

The DJ has lost 950,000 viewers in six months

Radio 1 breakfast DJ Nick Grimshaw has lost nearly a million listeners since taking over from Chris Moyles last year, Rajar audience figures show.

The 28-year-old DJ, who replaced Moyles in an effort to appeal to younger listeners, has seen audience figures drop by 950,000 in six months.

The figures are the lowest for a Radio 1 breakfast show since it was presented by Sara Cox in 2003. Cox had 5.5 million listeners in her last three months of the job before she was replaced by Moyles, who claimed he was the “saviour” of Radio 1.

Grimshaw was appointed to take over from Moyles in September 2012 by Ben Cooper, Radio 1 controller, who wanted the station to regain its appeal to 15-29 year olds after the average age of its audience rose to 32.

But the former E4 presenter has failed to do so, pulling in 5.7 million listeners to his Breakfast Show, compared with Moyle’s 6.7 million in the last quarter of 2012.

The Today programme on Radio 4 has since overtaken Grimshaw’s Breakfast Show by 1.2 million listeners since the beginning of 2013, with Chris Evans’ Radio 2 morning slot beating Grimshaw’s by more than 4 million.

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show hit a new high of 9.8 million in the first quarter of 2013, and Radio 2 received a record 15.3 million listeners overall, its biggest audience ever.

The Today programme now has 6.9 million listeners according to the latest figures, while Radio 4 has increased its reach to 10.8 million overall.

Radio 3 was up 14 per cent on its equivalent period last year, while BBC 6 Music increased its listeners by 25 per cent.

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Radio Five Live saw little change staying constantly above 6 million since the beginning of 2012. Its breakfast show also remained steady at 2.5 million.