National Stations Make Gains In Latest RAJAR Figures
Most national stations made gains during the three-month period ending December 1999, according to the latest figures released by RAJAR this morning. The most significant turnaround was TalkSport, formerly Talk Radio, which saw its weekly reach increasing by 19.3%. The station has been changing its format and audience base over the last year; its largely female audience has now shifted to a mostly male audience as talk has been replaced by sport.
All BBC stations saw rises with Radio 5 making the most substantial gains; it now has over 6 million weekly listeners, an increase of 9.1% compared to the end of September. Radio 2 (up 4.3%) and Radio 3 (up 4.9%) also showed significant turnarounds in their weekly reach figures.
The commercial sector experienced significant losses however: Atlantic 252 fell by 16.3%, or 1,500 weekly listeners; Virgin saw a 2% drop, its national audience share now accounting for only 1.8%. However successes in the sector were significant with both TalkSport and Classic FM (up 6.8%) making gains.
| December 1999 RAJAR Weekly Reach (000s) Comparisons | ||||
| Station | Survey Period | Ending Sep 1999 | Ending Dec 1999 | % Change |
| Atlantic 252 | (Q) | 1,825 | 1,527 | -16.3 |
| BBC Radio 1 | (Q) | 11,219 | 11,291 | 0.6 |
| BBC Radio 2 | (Q) | 9,491 | 9,901 | 4.3 |
| BBC Radio 3 | (Q) | 1,923 | 2,018 | 4.9 |
| BBC Radio 4 | (Q) | 8,756 | 8,915 | 1.8 |
| BBC Radio 5 | (Q) | 5,572 | 6,081 | 9.1 |
| Classic FM | (Q) | 5,621 | 6,004 | 6.8 |
| talkSPORT | (Q) | 1,879 | 2,242 | 19.3 |
| Virgin Radio AM (UK) | (Q) | 3,101 | 3,040 | -2.0 |
| December 1999 RAJAR Share of Listening Comparisons | ||||
| Station | Survey Period | Ending Sep 1999 | Ending Dec 1999 | % Point Change |
| Atlantic 252 | (Q) | 0.9 | 0.6 | -0.3 |
| BBC Radio 1 | (Q) | 10.6 | 10.9 | 0.3 |
| BBC Radio 2 | (Q) | 12.2 | 12.8 | 0.6 |
| BBC Radio 3 | (Q) | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| BBC Radio 4 | (Q) | 10.6 | 11 | 0.4 |
| BBC Radio 5 | (Q) | 4.2 | 4.4 | 0.2 |
| Classic FM | (Q) | 4.1 | 4.3 | 0.2 |
| talkSPORT | (Q) | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Virgin Radio AM (UK) | (Q) | 2.2 | 1.8 | -0.4 |