Other than the BBC, UK commercial radio may be living out the last two decades of its existence, Claire Enders, founder of UK research service Enders Analysis, told the MediaGuardian Changing Media Summit Thursday, MediaGuardian reported.

Enders based her statement on the shift to online news dissemination and a sharp decline in offline advertising that have rendered many commercial radio stations unprofitable.

"There is a next generation of people in agencies who are not that keen on radio," she said, according to MediaGuardian. Radio was likely to end up solely in the form of "hobbyist" models, such as podcasts, she added.

Commercial radio failed to tap into the digital wave that is sweeping through the media business, said Matt Wells, head of audio for The Guardian.

However, Clive Dickens, the chief operating officer of Absolute Radio said that as long as the relationship between audience and the medium remained strong, and radio companies diversified their revenue sources, they would continue to thrive.

Based on the failure of early digital radio developed by the Times of India Media group, he said that the sector had still not understood the fact that audiences wanted more choices, not upgraded technology. BBC was delivering in this regard and is a space to watch, he said, according to MediaGuardian.