Radio broadcasters from across the UK have come together to provide a single service for online listeners with the new UK RadioPlayer.

For the first time BBC stations will be joined by commercial stations in one place in an attempt from the industry to try and boost online listening numbers which have been lagging in comparison to other online entertainment services.

Currently only 3% of radio listeners use the internet to listen to their favourite shows with the growth rate in the number of online listeners being described as “sluggish” by the BBC.

While the full range of BBC shows will be available on the RadioPlayer other leading names from the commercial world are also on board including GMG, Bauer Media, Blobal and UTV Radio.

Tim Davie, the director of audio and music at the BBC said: “It is true that to a certain extent, the radio industry has lacked the level of innovation of television.”

He said that he welcomed this latest move within the industry and added that he believed that the RadioPlayer should be seen as an indication of a “renewed determination to innovate”.

The RadioPlayer will offer users the opportunity to have standardised access to radio stations however it will not be able to guarantee that all stations will be broadcast with the same level of quality as the broadcasters will be free to pick their own levels of bitrates within the site.

Michael Hill, the managing director of RadioPlayer Ltd told the BBC: “We wanted to leave stations to chose their own bitrate. That is the way for small stations to keep their costs down.”

The RadioPlayer will be able to be used on devices that can use the Adobe Flash platform while a version capable of running with Apple devices will be available for users shortly according to Michael Hill.