Rajar Q1 2016: National stations and networks

Reach

Global, Bauer and BBC stations continue to reach the greatest number of listeners each week, with a -1.1% drop over the first quarter of the year unable to uproot Total Global Radio from the top spot.

22.2 million listeners tune in to the network each week, cementing its place as commercial king of the airwaves. Year on year the network was up 4.8%.

Total Bauer Radio portfolio, up 0.9% this quarter, recorded more than 16.6 million, while a small 0.3% increase took BBC Radio 2 to 15.5 million. Both were up year on year.

Elsewhere, BBC Radio 4 (including 4 Extra), was down -3.4% and BBC Radio 1 was down -4.1%. The stations still reach 10.6m and 9.9m, respectively, making them two of the best performing in the UK.

It was less good news for Classic FM, which recorded a -7.2% decline over the quarter, shedding 400,000 listeners. The station was down -7.3% over the year.

Bauer’s Kerrang also took a tumble this quarter, down -9.5% to 787,000 weekly listeners, while The Hits, also owned by Bauer, was down -14.7% to 693,000.

Share

There was little change to share of listening for national stations in the first quarter of 2016, with a -0.2 percentage point decrease over the quarter having little effect on Total Global Radio’s first place listing. The network continues to dominate with a 19.1% share.

BBC Radio 2 came in second place with an 18.6% share, while Bauer Radio (Total) secured 14.1%, followed closely by BBC Radio 4 (including 4 Extra) with 13.1%.

All other increases and decreases were marginal.

Average hours

There were a few disappointments for some stations this quarter, as well as a selection of notable gains.

As usual, there was little change or upset at the top end of the table, with BBC Radio 4 (including 4 Extra), Radio 2, and Radio 4 maintaining the top three spots.

After a dip in the final quater of 2015, BBC Radio 6 Music saw a return to growth – up 2.2 percentage points to 9.4 hours per listener. The station also recorded a healthy year-on-year increase of 11.9pp, cementing its place as one of the top players – and certainly the best performing digital-only channel.

Elsewhere, Bauer’s Planet Rock was going headbang-tastic with a 17.6pp increase over the quarter. The station currently records an average of 8 hours per listener and was up 36.5pp year on year.

Radio X Network – formally branded as XFM – was also doing well, up 24.6pp to 7.1 hours per listener.

It was less good news for Gold Network, down -10.5pp and Smooth Extra, down -29.9pp.