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In the past few years, however, technological developments have spread to radio, meaning listeners and advertisers benefit from greater choice in how to listen, a wider range of stations, potentially more interactivity and better sound quality.

There are now 478,000 DAB digital radios in UK homes. The total number of weekly listeners to commercial radio has risen slightly since 1999 - the year Rajar (Radio Joint Audience Research)started measuring radio listeners - going from 42.7m to 43.9m in the final quarter of 2003. But being able to listen to a radio station via web or digital TV has expanded the audiences for many stations. More than one in five consumers say they have listened in via digital TV - 42% of those with access to it - while 15.1% have tuned in online.

Emap's Magic FM was a London-only station in 1999, with 1.3m weekly listeners.

Fast forward to 2003 and the station is now listened to by 2.59m people across the country, thanks to its platform on digital TV and availability through digital radios. This makes it the biggest digital radio station. Likewise, Emap's Kiss has expanded out of London through the same method and added a million listeners over the four-year period that has marked the introduction of digital radio.

There are a growing number of stations that only broadcast a digital signal, including OneWord, which offers a diet of books, plays and comedy being read out. The most popular digital-only station is Smash Hits, which was drawing 751,000 weekly listeners at the end of last year.

Before the advent of digital there were only three truly national commercial stations - Virgin, talkSPORT and Classic FM. And while digital radio offers many potential benefits to advertisers, the fact that it has created more national commercial radio brands is the main sell, according to Tim Bleakley, sales director for Emap's broadcast division. 'The combination of analogue and digital listeners is making the previously regional stations much more attractive to advertisers,' he explains. 'It's all about coverage and demographics.' While advertisers are taking advantage of the increased listener numbers that digital technology has brought them, though, they have not yet started to target stations with customised campaigns in any great number.

MindShare head of radio Howard Bareham says none of his clients have created specific creative for ads carried on digital radio, and the digital-only stations have limited appeal. 'The listener numbers don't justify it at the moment. We do book ads onto digital stations - we used Mojo recently for Ford and Kiss for Nestle - but it is regarded as an add-on to the campaign.'

This is not to say that there isn't great potential for advertisers to take advantage of the interactive possibilities of digital radio, once listener numbers grow to critical mass. Listeners can be invited by presenters (or ad voiceovers) to press the red button on their DAB radio to hear more about an advertiser; or, if listening via TV, they can be diverted to a series of screens with information via their remote control.

Columbia TriStar was one of the first advertisers to test this use of digital radio, when it recently backed the video and DVD release of movie SWAT on Emap stations Kiss and Magic; use of the red button showcased a competition to listeners. And Masterfoods used the same technique recently for its 'Get it 1st' promotion, offering consumers listening to Kiss through a digital TV the opportunity to get more details on a Skittles and Bounty on-pack competition offering music concert tickets as prizes. It yielded 2000 responses - the same rate as a traditional radio promotion.

Another interesting development brought about by digital radio is a greater chance of contributing to programming.

Digital channels often have small programming budgets and are eager for help from suitable advertisers, within limits. Even Emap, one of the biggest players in digital radio, is talking to advertisers about what it terms 'supplier-funded programming' for smaller stations such as Mojo and Heat.

This would go beyond standard sponsorship, allowing advertisers to create programming that entirely reflects their brand message, and include branded references. This is a significant opportunity, but the fact that no deals have yet been arranged reflects the greatest limitation on digital radio really taking off among the advertising community - the fact that listener numbers have not yet reached the point where it makes commercial sense to plan dedicated campaigns.

But while most people listening to digital radio tune in via their TV, on the Freeview or SkyDigital platforms, the Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB) estimates that the number listening via a DAB radio will reach a million by the end of this year. Its optimism is based on some of the biggest electronics brands, including Sony, Sharp and Samsung, entering the market over the next few months. One model, set to reach the shops in May, will even feature pause, rewind, and timed record functions.

Car manufacturers are also starting to offer a digital radio option.

Ford was the only non-radio founder member of the DRDB and is part of the MXR Consortium, one of the groups awarded licences to operate multiplexes that carry digital stations. Ford's commitment to digital radio includes a pledge to manufacture cars with digital radios as standard. Vauxhall, Daewoo and MG Rover, meanwhile, have committed to fitting digital radios as an extra in their cars.

The entry of the major electronics manufacturers into the market this summer should boost consumer attention, says a spokeswoman for the DRDB.

'There is obviously a huge job to be done persuading consumers to replace radios and we'll tackle that with ads over the next few months.'

But the DRDB's job is not eased by headlines surrounding digital reception problems. A University of Essex professor's Ofcom-commissioned study reached the papers last month when it revealed that of the 50 digital stations Londoners can tune in to, half broadcast at a sound quality worse than FM. Not great PR when sound quality is supposed to be one of the key consumer benefits of digital radio.

Unlike digital TV, where an analogue switch-off date is causing consumers to think about replacing their TVs, the Department of Trade and Industry has no plans to set a switch-off date for analogue radio. 'We need the bandwidth space for TV, but there is no such necessity for radio,' says a spokesman.

Selling the benefits of targeting people listening online is less controversial for stations. Although only 15.1% of people have used the web to tune into a station, it offers huge benefits. 'You can combine the emotion and immediacy of radio with the permanency and extra detail of online,' says James Cridland, managing editor of new media at Virgin Radio.

Virgin attracts more online listeners than any other UK radio station.

It offers advertisers the chance to buy radio time and space on its website as one package, with presenters refering listeners to the Virgin Radio website for more details about an advertiser. Most often this happens as part of a competition constructed so that listeners must visit the site to enter.

Putting a competition on the site also extends its life beyond the show on which it featured. Mazda ran a promotion with Virgin Radio last month that was put on the website with a link to information about Mazda's range.

Crucially, says Cridland, the product information was still within the Virgin site.

'Listeners understand it's an ad, but it's backed by the station so they feel comfortable reading it.'

Although half of consumers still haven't heard of digital radio, let alone considered buying one, marketers who wait until it has become a mass-market phenomenon are likely to have missed the chance to be seen as a pioneering brand.

LISTENING HABITS

UK adults who have listened to the radio via the net

December 2003 7.3m

December 2002 5.9m

December 2001 4.5m

March 2000 3.1m

Source: Radio Advertising Bureau

Commercial radio listeners who have listened to the radio via the net

December 2003 5.7m

December 2002 4.5m

December 2001 3.5m

March 2000 2.4m

Source: Radio Advertising Bureau

UK adults who have listened to digital radio via digital TV

December 2003 10.3m

December 2002 7.9m

December 2001 6.4m

Source: Radio Advertising Bureau

DAB digital radios in circulation

January 2004 478,000

December 2003 435,000

December 2002 135,000

Source: Digital Radio Development Bureau