RAJAR Q3 2012 – Headlines and Comment

A few headlines from this quarter’s RAJAR results…

• Magic 105.4 take number one spot in London, recording both the highest reach and the best audience share
• New digital only station Smooth 70s performs well in its first set of results
• Capital is the number one breakfast show in London, delivering higher reach than Chris Moyles in his final figures

And here is some comment…

The headlines this RAJAR are no doubt going to  Bauer Radio and Magic 105.4 in particular – and rightly so. Magic 105.4 in London have regained the number one spot in terms of reach, going above 2 million weekly listeners, and a huge increase in listening hours has seen them deliver an impressive market share of 7.3%. Given that this RAJAR period covered the Queen’s Jubilee and Olympics Games, could it be that people were tuning in to the station with its “more music, less talk” policy, to escape the hype?

The National Commercial radio breakfast shows also deserve a mention, after posting some strong figures. Simon Bates’ move from Classic FM to Smooth Radio UK (including Smooth 70s) has helped them post a strong audience, whilst John Suchet who took over the Classic FM morning show has maintained their figures. As they would say, “a big shout out goes to Rickie, Melvin and Charlie on Kiss” as they also posted some strong figures, showing that their show is just as popular outside of London as in it. (Unfortunately the shows are all at different times so it’s unfair to make a direct comparison but if you’d like the figures please do get in touch).

In regards to digital radio, this quarter has seen positive figures for commercial radio, with a record share of 30.7% of listening being via a digital platform – but overall there has been little change. New station Smooth 70s had a great first RAJAR and Jazz FM helped commercial radio’s figures with their highest ever reach (624,000), while Planet Rock retained their high listening hours to be named the ‘most listened to digital commercial station’.

And here is a final thought for you. Global Radio’s purchase of Real and Smooth Ltd looks all set to go through. If / when it does, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Real Radio stations rebranded into the Heart network – if that were to happen we could be looking at a reach of almost 10 million weekly listeners!

(Source: RAJAR Q3 2012)

Simon Pearce is Head of Insight at radio advertising specialists RadioWorks and Maple Street Studios

RAJAR Q3 2012 Review

Hi All,

Here’s my full RAJAR update for Quarter 3 2012 – if this is a little too much, check out my comments which I will be posting shortly.

Enjoy…

Magic 105.4 becomes the most listened to commercial radio station in London, whilst digital listening figures remain static.

RAJAR, the radio audience survey, shows that 89% of people in the UK listen to the radio every week. Commercial radio reaches over 33 million listeners and achieves a listener share of 43.3% versus the BBC’s 54.2%. On a local level, commercial radio completely dominates the BBC, delivering 26.4 million listeners compared to the BBC’s 8.9 million for local and regional services.

LONDON LISTENING: In the London marketplace the big news is that Magic 105.4 has taken over the number one spot in terms of reach, delivering over 2.1 million weekly listeners. Magic have also delivered in terms of listening share, showing strong quarter on quarter growth to take the top position with a massive 7.3%.  Going back to the reach table, Capital London have dropped to second position after a poor set of results, delivering 1,999,000.  A 12.2% quarter on quarter growth to 1,952,000 from Kiss 100 has helped them jump above Heart London (1,826,000), with LBC (927,000) also up 14% quarter on quarter taking fifth place, whilst poor results for Absolute Radio in London (832,000) saw them drop to sixth. Note: It is possible to measure Classic FM by its London only transmitter, which delivers 1,287,000.

LONDON BREAKFAST: The much talked about ‘battle of the breakfast shows’ has again been won by Capital Radio London, with 1,165,000 listeners to their show from 6-10am. This is the third set of results for Capital Radio since a change to the line-up saw Dave Berry replace Johnny Vaughan as Lisa Snowdon’s co-host on the breakfast show – and they will no doubt be proud of their continued reign at the top. Neil Fox’s Magic Breakfast Show (5-9am) has retained second place with improved figures up to 822,000 listeners, whilst Kiss Breakfast with Rickie, Melvin & Charlie (6-9am) have achieved third position with 717,000 weekly listeners – again beating Jamie and Harriet on Heart London (6-9am) who delivered 611,000 listeners.

NEW STATIONS: This is the first RAJAR for one new station and also a number of rebranded stations. Following the lead of Absolute Radio, decade-based stations are in vogue at present, with all the new stations carrying this theme. Smooth 70s, the National digital radio station owned by Real and Smooth Ltd, has delivered 749,000 listeners in its first set of results. Whilst Orion Media has taken the step of rebranding their Midlands-based Gold stations to Free Radio 80s. Previously reporting as Gold Birmingham & Black Country; Coventry & Warwickshire; Shropshire and West Midlands, the stations are now part of the Free Radio 80s Network. Whilst some stations struggle when they go through a rebrand, the Free Radio 80s stations have all had positive results. Covering Swansea and Port Talbot, 102.1 Bay Radio has also become an 80s station – extending the brand of its sister station Nation Radio to become Nation 80s – delivering a reach of 39,000, only slightly down on their previous reach of 40,000.

REGIONAL REVIEW: Briefly looking around the regions; in Norfolk, Norwich 99.9 FM have posted weekly reach figures of 54,000 listeners – 16% of the available population (slightly down from 57,000). In Doncaster (South Yorkshire), Trax FM has seen positive quarter on quarter growth, delivering 98,000 listeners (27%), up from 96,000 listeners (26%) previously, and in South West Wales Radio Pembrokeshire have posted a massive weekly reach of 50% (48,000 weekly listeners).

NATIONAL STATIONS: Classic FM remains the most listened to (single) commercial radio station in the UK. The station has maintained its reach of 5.4 million adults with listeners tuning in for an average of 6.5 hours. Keeping a focus on the national analogue stations: talkSPORT held on to second place recording a reach of 3 million weekly listeners. While Absolute Radio (National + London) delivered results down 12.4% quarter on quarter to 1,544,000. Note: Kiss UK, who broadcast across the UK via online, digital TV and on a number of DAB transmitters – plus three regional FM licenses – have achieved 4.3 million listeners, while Smooth Radio, who also broadcast nationally on DAB and have several regional licences (with local content in Scotland), has delivered figures of 3.19 million weekly adult listeners.

NETWORK STATIONS: The network radio stations which have become a feature of the UK radio industry over the past couple of years have again delivered some big numbers this quarter.
The largest commercial radio network in the country is Global’s Heart Network which delivers 7.3 million listeners, closely followed by the Capital Network on 6.8 million listeners. Kiss UK has delivered 4.3 million, Magic UK 3.8 million, Smooth Radio UK 3.2 million, and Real Radio UK 2.3 million.

Note: As the UK radio marketplace changes there is some convergence between national and network stations. Whilst the lines are becoming blurred, RadioWorks define network stations as those which have locally produced content, whilst national stations have the same output right across the country and are also available on a mainstream national transmitter (Analogue Radio or Digital Radio).

DIGITAL RADIO: Digital listening has remained static dropping down slightly to account for a 31.3% share of all radio listening, with 45.6% of people now listening to digital radio, either through DAB, DTV, the internet or ‘other’. The latest RAJAR figures recorded that 22 million adults (42%) claim to live in a household which has a DAB receiver. The number one commercial, digital only radio station in the UK remains Smash Hits Radio, with almost one million listeners (970,000). Absolute  80s have jumped up to second place with 895,000 weekly reach, going above The Hits which has dropped down to 893,000. Planet Rock also dropped off slightly reaching 864,000 listeners whilst in their first RAJAR Smooth 70s delivered impressive results of 749,000.

GROUP PERFORMANCE: The UK’s largest commercial radio group is Global Radio (delivering a total of 19.2 million listeners), thanks in part to the strength of its three core brands Classic FM, Heart and Capital. Bauer Radio with their Place and Passion Portfolios is the second largest commercial group, with a total reach of 13.3 million adults. Real and Smooth Ltd. (previously GMG Radio), who are now a part of Global Radio (subject to confirmation from the Competitions Commission) has delivered a 5.8 million weekly reach, whilst UTV Radio, owners of talkSPORT, reaches 4.2 million listeners.  Absolute Radio, and its network of decade-based stations, have dropped off slightly after their record listening figures of the previous quarter, and now deliver 2.9 million weekly reach figures. It is also worth noting that when Global’s purchase of Real and Smooth Ltd goes through, the group could be posting figures in the region of up to 25 million listeners.

TARGETED STATIONS: Premier Christian Radio, broadcasting in London on analogue and across the UK via digital (online and DAB) have dropped off slightly on last quarter’s reach, now delivering 164,000 listeners every week. There has also been a slight drop quarter on quarter for Sunrise Radio (London) who reach 282,000 weekly listeners.

MOBILE LISTENING: RAJAR shows that 18% of adults and 34% of 15-24’s now claim to listen to radio on their mobile phone, and nearly all the UK’s radio stations are providing smartphone apps to enhance the mobile listening experience. The UK’s online radio consolidation platform, RadioPlayer, has also released an iPhone app, with versions for other formats to follow. .

That’s it from me for now. If you have any questions on RAJAR or if you would like any further information please feel free to contact your RadioWorks representative or email me Simon@RadioWorks.co.uk

SOURCE: RAJAR Q3 2012

Simon Pearce is Head of Insight at radio advertising specialists RadioWorks and Maple Street Studios

RAJAR Q2 2012

Hi All,

Here’s my full RAJAR update for Quarter 1 2012 – if this is a little too much, check out my comments which I will be posting shortly.

Enjoy…

It’s been another good quarter for digital listening! This quarter saw an increase, with 326 million listening hours, and 46% of the population tuning in to the radio via any digital platform up from 45% last quarter.

RAJAR, the radio audience survey, shows that 89% of people in the UK listen to the radio every week. Commercial radio reaches over 33 million listeners and achieves an increased listener share of 43.3% versus the BBC’s 54.3%. On a local level commercial radio completely dominates the BBC, delivering 26.3 million listeners compared to the BBC’s 8.9 million for local and regional services.

LONDON LISTENING: In the London marketplace Capital London has held on to the number one spot in terms of reach; despite a drop in listener numbers they still deliver a reach of 2,072,000 adult listeners.  However, in terms of listening share it is Heart London which has shown strong quarter on quarter growth to take the top position with 5.3%.  Going back to the reach table, Magic 105.4 have maintained their reach from the previous quarter delivering 1,951,000, and Heart London (1,798,000) has held off Kiss 100 (1,740,000) to take third position. A 22.2% quarter on quarter growth to 974,000 from Total Absolute Radio (London) has seen them take fifth position in terms of reach with LBC (809,000) dropping to sixth. Note: It is possible to measure Classic FM by its London only transmitter, which delivers 1,269,000.

LONDON BREAKFAST: The much talked about ‘battle of the breakfast shows’ has again been won by Capital Radio London, with 1,156,000 listeners to their show from 6-10am. This is the second set of results for Capital Radio since a change to the line-up saw Dave Berry replace Johnny Vaughan as Lisa Snowdon’s co-host on the breakfast show, and although their reach has dropped slightly, they will no doubt be happy to retain the number one spot.  Neil Fox’s Magic Breakfast Show (5-9am) has retained second place with 760,000 listeners, whilst Kiss Breakfast with Rickie, Melvin & Charlie (6-9am) have managed to achieve third position with 735,000 weekly listeners – beating Jamie and Harriet on Heart London (6-9am) who achieved 734,000 listeners.

NEW STATIONS: This is the first RAJAR for a number of rebranded stations, with the biggest change being the Orion Media owned, Midlands based, Free Radio stations. Previously reporting as BRMB, Mercia, Wyvern and Beacon, the stations are now part of the Free Radio Network. We often see poor results when stations first rebrand, with listeners getting used to the new name and station and Free Radio has proved no different, dropping from a combined reach of 801,000 to 708,000. Exeter FM also dropped slightly in reach after their rebrand to Radio Exe,but going from 28,000 to 25,000 won’t phase them too much. Eagle Extra, previously County Sound, appears to have bucked the trend, increasing their weekly reach from 6,000 to 13,000. As have Heart Cornwall – previously 105-107 Atlantic FM – who joined the massive Heart Network and increased their weekly reach from 66,000 to 68,000.

REGIONAL REVIEW: Briefly looking around the regions; Isle of Wight Radio, recent winner of the Arqiva Station of the Year (for under 300,000 TSA), have posted strong weekly reach figures of 36,000 listeners, 30% of the available population. In Harrogate (North Yorkshire), Stray FM has seen positive quarter on quarter growth, delivering 47,000 listeners (33%) up 3,000 listeners on the previous results. And, if you’re heading down to Weymouth to see the Olympic Sailing, why not tune in to Wessex FM who have posted a weekly reach of 40% (47,000 weekly listeners).

NATIONAL STATIONS: Classic FM remains the most listened to (single) commercial radio station in the UK. The station has maintained its reach of 5.4 million adults with listeners tuning in for an average of 6.4 hours. Keeping a focus on the national analogue stations – talkSPORT held on to second place despite not being able to continue their record reach of previous quarters, achieving 2.9 million weekly listeners. While Absolute Radio (National + London) managed improved results, up 9.4% quarter on quarter to 1,763,000. Note: Kiss UK, who broadcast across the UK via online, digital TV and on a number of DAB transmitters plus three regional FM licenses have achieved 4.3 million listeners, while Smooth Radio, who also broadcast nationally on DAB and have several regional licences (with local content in Scotland), has delivered figures of 3.2 million weekly adult listeners.

NETWORK STATIONS: The network radio stations which have become a feature of the UK radio industry over the past couple of years have again delivered some big numbers this quarter. The largest commercial radio network in the country is Global’s Heart Network which delivers almost 7.4 million listeners, closely followed by the Capital Network on just under 7 million listeners. Kiss UK has delivered 4.3 million, Magic UK 3.7 million, Smooth Radio UK 3.2 million, and Real Radio UK 2.4 million.

Note: As the UK radio marketplace changes there is some convergence between national and network stations. Whilst the lines are becoming blurred, RadioWorks define network stations as those which have locally produced content, whilst national stations have the same output right across the country and are also available on a mainstream national transmitter (Analogue Radio or Digital Radio).

DIGITAL RADIO: Digital listening has grown to account for a 31.5% share of all radio listening, with 46% of people now listening to digital radio, either through DAB, DTV, the internet or ‘other’. The latest RAJAR figures recorded that 21.8 million adults (41.7%) claim to live in a household which has a DAB receiver. The number one commercial, digital only radio station in the UK is now Smash Hits Radio, with over one million listeners (1,011,000). Also owned by Bauer, The Hits has dropped to second place with 973,000. Planet Rock increased their reach again by 10.1% quarter on quarter to take third position with a reach figure of 948,000. Absolute Radio 80s delivered 864,000 listeners to achieve fourth place with Heat Radio delivering 713,000.

GROUP PERFORMANCE: The UK’s largest commercial radio group is Global Radio (delivering a total of 19.3 million listeners), thanks in part to the strength of its three core brands Classic FM, Heart and Capital. Bauer Radio with their Place and Passion Portfolios is the second largest commercial group, with a total reach of 13.3 million adults. GMG Radio, who are now a part of Global Radio (subject to confirmation from the competitions commission)has delivered a 5.5 million weekly reach, whilst UTV Radio, owners of talkSPORT, reaches 4.3 million listeners.

TARGETED STATIONS: Premier Christian Radio, broadcasting in London on analogue and across the UK via digital (online and DAB) have improved their quarter on quarter reach and now deliver 172,000 listeners every week. There has also been quarter on quarter increases for Sunrise Radio (London) who reach 286,000 weekly listeners.

MOBILE LISTENING: RAJAR shows that 18% of adults and 35% of 15-24’s now claim to listen to radio on their mobile phone. Nearly all the UK’s radio stations are providing smartphone apps to enhance the mobile listening experience, and providing advertisers with an additional point of contact. A recent RAB / Other Lines Of Enquiries study into mobile radio listening showed 32% of 16-34 year olds have listened to radio via mobile (at some stage), and 20% listen at least once a week.

That’s it from me for now. If you have any questions on RAJAR, or if you would like any further information, please feel free to contact your RadioWorks representative or alternatively email meSimon@RadioWorks.co.uk

SOURCE: RAJAR Q2 2012

Simon Pearce is Head of Insight at radio advertising specialists RadioWorks and Maple Street Studios

RAJAR Q1 2012 – Headlines and Comment

A few headlines from this quarter’s RAJAR results…

• 45% of the population listen to Digital Radio every week
• Capital hold on to the number one spot in London, with their breakfast show also finishing on top
• Bauer take the top two digital only commercial station spots with Hits and Smash Hits

And here is my comment on some of the results…

It’s been a great week for radio in Liverpool with local stations Radio City and 107.6 Juice FM bringing home Gold from the Sony Radio Academy Awards and improving their listening figures. We’ve been listening in to Juice this week and can confirm it is a great station. Targeted at Liverpool’s young, hip and happening population it’s a station that doesn’t take itself too seriously whilst at the same time being able to provide great content. My favourite feature so far has been ‘Orange Wednesday’ which gives the tan loving ladies of Liverpool the opportunity to win a spray tan! Keep up the good work Juice!

Here at RadioWorks we’ve been talking a lot about Radio’s Digital Future via DAB, online listening and mobile listening. The BBC stations 4 Extra and UK station of the year 6 Music have been leading the way in terms of reach but Commercial stations are not too far behind. Absolute Radio are embracing all the digital platforms and have reported that 77% of their total listening is now via digital – against an industry average of 29.2% – and they are providing advertisers with new ways to target these digital listeners, including Absolute Radio inStream. Another digital only station, Jazz FM deserves to be mentioned here. Jazz have increased their reach 13.9% year on year to now deliver 546,000 weekly listeners and they now deliver 2.4 million listening hours every week.

Simon Pearce is Head of Insight at RadioWorks and Maple Street Studios

RAJAR Q1 2012

Hi All,

Here’s my full RAJAR update for Quarter 1 2012 – if this is a little too much, check out my comments which I will be posting shortly.

Enjoy…

It’s been another good quarter for Digital Listening! This quarter saw an increase in Digital Listening with 311 million listening hours and 45% of the population tuning in to the radio via any digital platform.

RAJAR, the radio audience survey, shows that 90% of people in the UK listen to the radio every week. Commercial Radio reaches over 33 million listeners and achieves a listener share of 42.3% versus the BBC’s 55.4%. On a local level commercial radio completely dominates the BBC delivering 26.5 million listeners compared to the BBC’s 9.9 million for local and regional services.

LONDON LISTENING: In the London marketplace Capital London has held on to the number one spot in terms of reach with a 4.1% year on year increase taking them to a reach of 2,269,000 listeners. Magic 105.4 has dropped off slightly in terms of reach down to 1,963,000. However, in terms of listening share Magic has grown their hours to take top position from Capital with a share of 6.1%. Going back to the reach table, strong improvements from Kiss sees them move above Heart London to take third position. The Sony Award winning station Kiss FM delivered a year on year increase of 7.5% to achieve 1,958,000 weekly listeners – a share of 5.1% and places them at third in the share table. With 1.9 million listeners per week Heart London is in fourth place in terms of reach but poor listening hours has seen the station drop to fifth place with a share of only 4.4%. After recent strong results, LBC have had a poor quarter, seeing their reach drop to 867,000 and the share drop to 4.6%. The national station Classic FM also reports London only figures and delivered 1.1 million listeners with a share of 3.5%.

LONDON BREAKFAST: The much talked about ‘battle of the breakfast shows’ has been won by Capital London, with 1,265,000 listeners to their show from 6-10. This is the first set of results for Capital London since a change to the line-up saw Dave Berry replace Johnny Vaughan as Lisa Snowdon’s co-host on the breakfast show, so they will no doubt be very happy to retain the number one position despite a slight drop over last quarter’s results. Neil Fox’s Magic Breakfast Show (5-9am) has retained second place with 793,000. Whilst Jamie and Harriet on Heart London (6-9am) have jumped up to third position with a reach of 759,000 weekly listeners. Kiss Breakfast with Rickie, Melvin & Charlie (6-9am) this week won a Sony Gold Award for their show but unfortunately failed to grow their audience, achieving only 750,000 weekly listeners. This is still some way ahead of the fifth and sixth placed London Breakfast shows, LBC (561,000) and Absolute Radio Network London (532,000).

REGIONAL REVIEW: Briefly looking around the regions; Liverpool appears to be the place to be if you want to listen to award winning radio. At this week’s Sony Radio Academy Awards – the radio Oscars – two local stations in the city both brought home Gold Awards. Radio City won the station of the year award for a population of over one million, and the micro station Juice FM won the station of the year award for a population fewer than one million. In terms of listening figures, they also delivered some strong results. Juice posted an increase of 9,000 listeners’ quarter on quarter to now reach 204,000 (21%), with Radio City reaching 447,000 (25%). And both stations showed an increase in listening hours. Outside of Liverpool there are a couple of stations whose RAJAR results that cannot be overlooked – Channel 103 & Island FM in Jersey and Guernsey respectively. This quarter, Island reached 49% of the population and Channel an amazing 58% reach of its available population – so if you want to advertise to people in the Channel Islands radio is a great way to reach the audience.

NATIONAL STATIONS: Classic FM remains the most listened to (single) commercial radio station in the UK. Despite a positive quarter the station is down over 10% year on year, with a reach of 5.4 million adults. Keeping a focus on the national analogue stations – talkSPORT, another Sony Award winner (for Best Sports Programme) improved their reach again and now delivers over 3.2 million listeners, while Absolute Radio remained around the 1.6 million mark. The Total Absolute Radio Network, which this quarter added Absolute Radio 60s and 70s to its stable of decade stations, has improved their results quarter on quarter, and now deliver almost 3 million listeners (2,978,000).

NETWORK STATIONS: The network radio stations which have become a feature of the UK radio industry over the past couple of years have posted some good results this quarter. The largest commercial radio network in the country is Global’s Heart Network which delivers over 7.4 million listeners, closely followed by the Capital Network on 7 million listeners. Kiss UK has delivered 4.3 million, Magic UK 3.6 million, Smooth Radio UK 3.3 million, and Total Real Radio 2.5 million.

DIGITAL RADIO: Digital listening has grown to account for a 29.2% share of all radio listening, with a weekly reach of 45.1% of people listening to digital radio, either through DAB, DTV, the internet or ‘other’. The latest RAJAR figures recorded 22 million adults (44.6%) claiming to live in a household which has a DAB receiver. The number one commercial, digital only, radio station in the UK is now The Hits with over one million listeners (1,081,000). Also owned by Bauer, Smash Hits has dropped to second place with 991,000. Planet Rock increased their reach 6.2% quarter on quarter to take third position with a reach of 861,000; with Absolute Radio 80s reaching 857,000 to achieve fourth and Heat Radio delivering 716,000. This is the first set of results for the recently launched Absolute Radio 60s and Absolute Radio 70s, both stations helped the Absolute business to post their highest audience figures for almost 10 years with 60’s achieving 151,000 and 70s delivering 157,000 weekly reaching.

GROUP PERFORMANCE: The UK’s largest commercial radio group is Global Radio (19.2 million listeners), thanks in part to the strength of its three core brands Classic FM, Heart and Capital. Bauer Radio with their Place and Passion Portfolios is the second largest commercial group, with a total reach of 13.3 million. GMG Radio has delivered 5.5 million weekly reach whilst UTV Radio, owners of talkSPORT, reach 4,461,000 listeners.

TARGETED STATIONS: Premier Christian Radio, broadcasting in London on analogue and across the UK via digital (online and DAB) now achieves a reach of 153,000. And there have also been quarter on quarter increases across Kismat Radio and Buzz Asia in London, delivering 105,000 and 119,000 respectively. Sunrise Radio has seen a slight drop quarter on quarter to 457,000 weekly reach.

MOBILE LISTENING: Finally onto mobile listening – RAJAR shows that 16.9% of adults and 32.8% of 15-24’s now claim to listen to radio on their mobile phone. Nearly all the UK’s radio stations are providing smartphone apps to enhance the mobile listening experience and provide advertisers with an additional point of contact. An upcoming RAB / Other Lines Of Enquiries study into mobile radio listening is expected to show some interesting results.

That’s it from me for now. If you have any questions on RAJAR or if you would like any further information please feel free to contact your RadioWorks representative or alternatively email Simon@RadioWorks.co.uk

SOURCE: RAJAR Q1 2012

RAJAR Q4 2011

Another Good Quarter for Digital Listening!

This Quarter saw an increase in Digital Listening with 300 million listening hours and 23.1 million people tuning into the radio via a digital platform  

RAJAR, the radio audience survey shows 46.7 million adults (15+) in the UK listen to the radio every week. Commercial Radio reaches 32.8 million listeners and achieves a listener share of 42.4% versus the BBC’s 55.5%. On a local level commercial radio completely dominates the BBC delivering 26.2 million listeners compared to the BBC’s 9.6 million for local and regional services.

In the London marketplace Capital London has held on to the number one spot with a 14.9% year on year increase taking them to a reach of 2,254,000 listeners. An improved result from Magic 105.4 sees them go above the two million mark to 2,167,000.  In terms of listening share Capital London and Magic also hold the top two positions with 5.9% and 5.7%. In terms of reach Heart 106.2 take the third position with 1.9 million listeners per week but poor listening hours has seen the drop to fifth place in terms of share with only 4.6%. Improved quarter-on-quarter results from Kiss see them jump into fourth place in terms of reach 1,874,000 and strong hours places them just behind Magic in terms of share (5.4%). LBC also had a strong quarter with reach up 15% to 967,000 and share up to 5.1%. The national station Classic FM also reports London only figures and delivered over 1.2 million listeners with a share of 3.9%.

The much talked about ‘battle of the breakfast shows’ has been won again by the now departed Johnny Vaughan and Lisa on Capital Radio London with 1.3 million listeners to their show from 6-10. Johnny left the station at the end of last year and has been replaced by former XFM and Capital weekend DJ Dave Berry. Also known for presenting shows on MTV, Berry has been presenting the Capital Breakfast show with Lisa Snowdon since the beginning of the year – the next quarter’s RAJAR results will show us how he’s performed in his first term at the helm of London’s largest Commercial Radio Breakfast show. Neil Fox’s Magic Breakfast Show (5-9am) increased its listeners to take second place with 848,000. Kiss 100’s Rickie, Melvin & Charlie (6-9am) managed to add 138,000 listeners to their previous total to take them to third most listened to breakfast show in London with 838,000 weekly listeners. Whilst Jamie and Harriet on Heart London (6-9am) dropped into fourth position with 814,000 listeners.

Briefly looking around the regions; in the Isle of Man, Manx Radio reached 69,000 adults (58% of all available adults in their TSA – Total Survey Area). The newly renamed Manchester station 106.1 Real XS (was 106.1 Rock Radio) has delivered 131,000 reach (6%) in their first set of results. In Wakefield the micro station Ridings FM delivered 44,000 listeners (15%). Broadcasting in Edinburgh, Forth 1 FM, which is a part of the new Bauer Place Portfolio, pulled in 341,000 (31%), and in Morecambe, The Bay achieved 108,000 listeners (38%).

Classic FM remains the most listened to (single) commercial radio station in the UK, despite a poor quarter, with a reach of 5.3 million adults. Keeping a focus on the national analogue stations – talkSPORT improved their reach by a further 2% quarter-on-quarter to just under 3.2 million listeners whilst Absolute Radio stayed around the 1.6 million mark. The Total Absolute Radio Network, which includes Absolute Classic Rock and the 80s, 90s, and 00s stations have remained at 2.8 million listeners and will hope to add to this with the first set of results from the recently launched Absolute Radio 60s and 70s next quarter.

The network radio stations which have become a feature of the UK radio industry over the past couple of years have posted some good results this quarter. The largest commercial radio network in the country is Global’s Heart Network which delivers 7.4 million listeners, closely followed by the Capital Network on 7 million listeners. Kiss UK has delivered 4.1 million, Magic UK 3.8 million, Smooth Radio UK 3.3 million, and Total Real Radio 2.6 million.

Digital listening has grown to account for a 29.1% share of all radio listening, with a weekly reach of 44.4% of people listening to digital radio, either through DAB, DTV, the internet or ‘other’. The latest RAJAR figures recorded 20.9 million adults (40%) claiming to live in a household which has a DAB receiver. The number one commercial, digital only, radio station in the UK is now Smash Hits with over one million listeners (1,004,000). Also owned by Bauer, The Hits takes second place with 984,000. After impressive results last quarter Absolute 80s has dropped in reach to 828,000 whilst the independently owned Planet Rock takes fourth position achieving 811,000 listeners.

The UK’s largest commercial radio group is Global Radio (19.4 million listeners), thanks in part to the strength of the Heart and Capital Network of stations. Bauer Radio is the second largest commercial group, with a 13.3 million reach. GMG Radio has seen their overall reach increase to almost 5.9 million whilst UTV Radio, owners of talkSPORT, reach 4,466,000 listeners.

Sunrise Radio, broadcasting in London on analogue and across the UK via digital (online and DAB) now achieves a reach of 490,000. But there have been year-on-year declines across Kismat Radio in London, Buzz Asia and Premier Christian Radio who delivered results of 69,000 adults; 108,000 adults and 89,000 adults respectively.

Finally onto mobile listening – RAJAR shows that 15.1% of adults and 32.2% of 15-24’s now claim to listen to radio on their mobile phone. Nearly all the UK’s radio stations are providing smartphone apps to enhance the mobile listening experience. An upcoming RAB / Other Lines Of Enquiries study into mobile radio listening is expected to show some interesting results.

That’s it from me for now. If you have any questions on RAJAR or if you would like any further information on Radio or Radio Advertising please feel free to contact your RadioWorks representative or alternatively email Simon@RadioWorks.co.uk

SOURCE: RAJAR Q4 2011

Si Pearce is Head of Insight at RadioWorks – the UK’s Premier Radio Advertising Agency

RAJAR Q1 10

Commercial Radio has had a good RAJAR with listening increasing year on year and quarter on quarter, with 32.1 million people now tuning in to commercial radio every week.

In the London marketplace Capital Radio and Magic 105.4 have battled it out for the top spot. Magic have achieved the highest reach (2,005,000) whilst Capital have delivered a higher share of the hours with 6%, so watch out for those conflicting stories on who is number one. Magic have come a close second to Capital in terms of share, delivering 5.9%. Strong hours again from LBC, along with an improved reach, have helped the station to achieve 5.1% share pushing it into third position. Heart is fourth with 4.7% share, and Kiss fifth on 4.1%

Commercial Radio as a whole will be very happy with this quarter’s set of figures, particularly on a local level where 26 million listeners tune in to commercial services compared to just 9.9 million for the BBC local and regional services. Across all stations, the ‘Chris Evans effect’ has helped the BBC to slightly improve on their share, with the figures now at 41.3% for Commercial Radio and 56.5% for the BBC. Note: Chris Evans has added a further 1.1 million listeners (13.1%) to the Radio 2 breakfast show he took over from Terry Wogan, helping Radio 2 to their highest ever reach of 14.6 million listeners.

Talking of breakfast the 95.8 Capital FM breakfast show has again retained its position as the number one commercial radio breakfast show in London, with Johnny and Lisa reaching 1,182,000 listeners (6-10am). Jamie and Harriet on Heart (6-9am) remain slightly ahead of Neil Fox on Magic (6-9am) with figures of 798,000 and 785,000 respectively. Rickie and Melvin on Kiss 100 (6-9am) came in fourth 656,000, and Nick Ferrari on LBC (7-10am) delivered a year on year increase of 37.4% to reach 597,000 listeners with his breakfast show.

Briefly looking around the regions… in Carlisle, CFM reached 99,000 adults (40% of all available adults in their TSA – Total Survey Area). In Hull the micro station KC FM delivered 76,000 listeners (18%). Broadcasting across South Wales the regional station Real Radio pulled in 406,000 (18%) and the East Midlands station, Heart 106, achieved 350,000 listeners (16%).

Focusing on Scotland, the success story there again comes from Galaxy Scotland (formerly XFM). Galaxy now reaches a total of 391,000 listeners, a 100% increase year on year! This quarter has been better for Total Clyde Radio (Clyde 1 and Clyde 2) in Glasgow as the two stations managed a combined increase on their reach, now delivering 664,000 adults (36%). Smooth Radio in Glasgow also had a little resurgence with its performance figures improving quarter on quarter, up 2.3% to now achieve 220,00 listeners (12%). There was also some good news for Radio Borders, which covers the Selkirk, Berwick, Peebles and Eyemouth areas, as the station increased their reach by 12.2% year on year to now reach 52% of its TSA (total survey area). Real Radio suffered in their performance a little with listener numbers dropping 5.1% year on year.

Classic FM remains the most listened to commercial radio station in the UK with a reach of 5.5 million adults, showing a quarter on quarter increase of 7.4%. Listening figures for talkSPORT have fallen off in the last quarter, dropping 5.1% quarter on quarter, now delivering a reach of 2,368,000 across the UK. Absolute Radio has again lost out on listeners dropping down 6.5% quarter on quarter to reach 1,396,000 adults 15+ across the UK. It’s not all bad news for Absolute though as their total hours across the whole network of stations (including Classic Rock) is up 12.1% quarter on quarter to 14 million. Absolute, always one to be ahead of the game in terms of technology, are to be the first radio station to publish the total number of hours of on-demand content served to listeners on a monthly basis (not via RAJAR) – in April the figure was 744,000.

Digital listening has grown to account for a 24% share of all radio listening, with 38.5% of people claiming to listen to digital radio, either through DAB, DTV, the internet or ‘other’ (e.g. smartphone applications). The latest RAJAR figures recorded 34.5% of adults claiming to live in a household which has a DAB receiver, up from 32% last year. Bauer’s digital stations continue to remain strong in the digital only UK market. The Hits achieves just over 1 million listeners and Smash Hits Radio 853,000 listeners, making them the two most listened to commercial digital only stations. The independently owned, Sony Digital Radio Station of the Year, Planet Rock takes third position achieving year on year growth of 3% and now reaching 694,000 listeners.

The UK’s largest commercial radio group is Global Radio (18.5 million listeners), the owners of the Heart Network of 33 stations which delivers 7.3 million listeners across the UK. Bauer Radio is the second largest commercial group, with 12.3 million reach, GMG Radio reach just short of 5 million people and UTV Radio, including talkSPORT, delivers almost 3.6 million reach.

This will also be the first RAJAR for some new stations… the digital only 80s music radio station, Absolute 80s, is reporting on RAJAR for the very first time and has managed a very respectable reach of 264,000 adults. Star North East, the station created as Durham, Northallerton Radio and Alpha came together, achieved a reach of 52,000 (14%). In Bristol Jack FM, formerly known as Original, achieved a reach of 21,000 (4%) and Peterborough’s Connect FM, formerly Lite FM, achieved a reach of 18,000 (10%).

Sunrise Radio, which broadcasts in London on analogue and across the UK via digital (online and DAB) has shown a year on year decrease of 6.1% to achieve a reach of 444,000. In their first RAJAR reporting as a national DAB radio station Panjab Radio delivered 172,000 listeners.

Finally, listening to the radio via a mobile phone should also be mentioned as 12.6% of adults and over 30% of 15-24s claim to listen in this way. Many radio stations are now providing smartphone apps to enhance the mobile phone listening experience. While podcasts are also proving very popular – Absolute Radio alone had 1.8 million podcasts downloaded in April.

SOURCE: RAJAR Q1 2010