Agency view: Michael Williamson, head of radio at Carat UK
A steady set of figures overall, following some very impressive recent results. The radio station owners will be happy and have plenty to shout about.
Digital growth again stands out. Several digital stations achieved record reach. BBC 6 Music teeters on the brink of becoming the 1st digital-only station to have 2 million weekly listeners. With 1.994 million listeners, its audience is up 15% year on year and this will be quite a landmark when the 2 million figure will be reached.
Commercially, Bauer continues to push the digital platform record performances for Absolute 80s (up to a massive 1.4 million weekly listeners), Heat Radio (now just shy of 1 million listeners) and Absolute 90s (665,000 listeners). Bauer is set to roll out a few tweaks to its portfolio in the coming months, which will look to maximise its digital listenership especially on Magic.
Alongside this is the D2 multiplex, which Bauer and talkSPORT are jointly bidding for. If successful, this will open up some really exciting opportunities for their stations and subsequently for advertisers. Some positive PR, which digital radio hasn’t always received, will be welcomed.
Outside of digital, station performances were heavily influenced by the recent consolidation in the radio market. Global’s Heart and Smooth brands have benefited hugely from rebranding Real Radio to Heart and Gold to Smooth.
Looking deeper into these numbers the big positives are that every new Heart station launched in May has grown its audience metrics, and Smooth London, which has previously underperformed against its potential, saw its reach increase by 68% year on year. These are hugely positive signs following the rather long takeover process.
