Everybody these days wants feedback. Within seconds of buying something, they're barging into your email inbox, demanding to know how you felt, even if you really have little intention of ever shopping there again! As for those smiley or miserable-face buttons in loos, don't even get us started. 

At Boom, we try not to pester you too frequently for your views on what we do – so it's great that we receive such a huge and prompt response when we do!

Often, we’re asked about the results – so we’re happy to share below some of the headlines from our September '26 questionnaire.

Firstly, thanks for your time and honesty. Whilst we’d love to adjust our programmes to suit each individual listener as they email us, of course we can’t. All we can do is try our best for our listeners at large – and these surveys usefully serve to indicate if there’s a groundswell of opinion about a particular topic; or a shift in opinion about something we've always done. 

It’s clear you listen on all manner of devices. 61% of Boom listeners tune in on a DAB+ radio, with smart speakers (like Alexa) close behind at 58%. Phones or tablets are the next most popular options at 39%. Many people listen in more than one way.

We are delighted that 47% suggest Boom is “getting better”, with 50% saying we are “staying the same”. Those figures are very similar to the sorts of figures over the last five years. 97% satisfaction is a phenomenal result and we are humbled. Thank you.

3% of those who took part felt we were “getting worse” and every single one of those people went on to helpfully tell us why.  We are grateful for your honesty.

Taken together, however, the comments did not reveal a single change that would satisfy that group (we wish it would!) Indeed, acting on some comments would directly antagonise others. There was a perception from a small number that we have become "safer" or more "playlist-driven" but that’s not something we can remedy as we haven’t actually changed anything. It’s perhaps a symptom of some listeners tuning-in for such long periods that what was once a surprise is becoming less so!

In terms of the music we play, 94% feel the balance of eras is about right and not "too old" or "too young"! That figure is about the same healthy level as it’s always been since we launched - which was great to see, given our music policy in terms of decade mix is much the same as when we began.

84% of Boom listeners agreed that Boom "cheers them up", 61% agreed strongly - and less than 1% disagreed.  98% said they "like the friendliness of Boom presenters" – with less than 2% saying "presenters talk too much"!

82% agreed that they hear "lots of great surprises in the music played" (37% agreed strongly) - with only 3% disagreeing. At Boom, we know the sorts of scores that other radio stations get for similar perceptions - so we are delighted to see these impressive levels at Boom, which have remained fairly consistent across our life.

We have to carry ads. No ads would mean no Boom - and fewer ads would also mean no Boom. In this study, only 14% felt we carry "too many ads"  - and over two-thirds (67%) recognised that "Boom carries fewer ads compared to other commercial stations". That was a relief to see – given we do!

We asked you how you felt about our regular programme features, from School Call to Your Song, Your First Car to the Gardening slot and Children’s Favourites spot on Sunday. Suffice to say, all are being well received. It’s always good to check. 

Rest assured the free-form comments ("anything else you'd like to tell us?") at the end have all been read and digested. The vast majority were positive – or included positive comments.  We were certainly reassured by so many listeners simply saying "please don’t change!".

On the common themes raised in those spontaneous comments:  we do acknowledge that sometimes it is not the volume of advertising that annoys but the repetition of a single ad - you can read more about those challenges in our FAQs. We also hear what you say about adverts for "depressing topics" and we have imposed limits on these across each hour of the day.

With hourly news bulletins, we accept that some listeners would rather we did not have them, but the majority are certainly in favour - and it was reassuring that newsreading attracting very little adverse comment this time compared to earlier surveys.

Our DAB+ coverage is not operated by us so it’s not something we are able to change ourselves.

The remainder of the topics raised have largely been addressed elsewhere in this article.

As for your favourite year for music. Well. It seems it’s still 1967 - although good old sweltering 1976 was not far behind.

Thanks again for taking part. We appreciate your help.