London’s Leading Radio Station Sees Ad Revenue Decline
Leading London radio station Capital 95.8 FM saw advertising revenue fall by almost 15% year on year during the first quarter of 2003, according to figures compiled exclusively for NewsLine by Nielsen Media Research.
The fall from £9.3 million to just below £8 million coincides with the 10.5% year on year drop in weekly reach seen at the station in the latest set of RAJAR results (see RAJAR Results Q1 2003 – Capital 95.8 FM Feels The Heat In London). It also comes as Capital Radio announces a 15.5% drop in pre-tax profits for the six months to March, with advertising expected to remain under pressure for the rest of the year.
In comparison, other London-based stations saw ad revenue surge in the three months to March, with Emap’s Magic 105.4 recording a healthy 14.9% increase to £3.6 million and Jazz FM London seeing adspend rocket by 62% to £1.1 million.
Capital 95.8 FM’s arch rival, Heart 106.2, saw its advertising revenue slip by 2.7% year on year to just below £4 million. However, the station increased its weekly reach by 10.1% during the same period, closing the gap on 95.8 FM to fewer than 600,000 listeners.
Virgin 105.8 FM got off to a poor start during the first quarter of 2003, adding a 21.8% year on year decline in ad revenue to a 14.3% drop in weekly reach. It seems that the station’s recent £3 million advertising campaign to promote changes to its DJ line-up and music policy (see Virgin Radio Invests £3m In Biggest Ever Ad Campaign), is yet to pay dividends.
Elsewhere in the capital, Chrysalis-owned LBC 97.3 and LBC News 1152 saw ad revenue slip by 26% and 33% respectively in the three months to March. However, the recently revamped stations, which were acquired from GWR last September (see Chrysalis Strengthens London Offering With LNR Acquisition), saw their weekly reach increase by a respective 4.8% and 16.4% year on year.
The latest data confirms that Capital 95.8 FM has had a rough ride over recent months with increasing competition and speculation over the future of its lynch-pin presenter, Chris Tarrant, rocking its once unshakeable dominance of the London market.
However, Tarrant has confirmed plans to stay on as presenter of the recently relaunched breakfast show and with a new advertising campaign launching this week (see Capital Lures New Listeners With Major Ad Campaign), Capital 95.8 FM looks set to retain a healthy lead over its London-based rivals, for the time being at least.
| Commercial London Radio Stations: Year On Year % Change In Ad Revenue (£) | ||||
| Station | Jan-Mar 02 | Jan-Mar 03 | Actual Change (£) | % Change |
| Capital 95.8 FM | 9,325,302 | 7,945,157 | -1,380,145 | -14.8 |
| Capital Gold London | 1,714,156 | 1,487,887 | -226,269 | -13.2 |
| Choice FM London | 650,384 | 720,625 | 70,241 | 10.8 |
| Heart 106.2 FM | 4,077,839 | 3,967,737 | -110,102 | -2.7 |
| Jazz FM (London) was Jazz FM 102.2 | 694,537 | 1,122,372 | 427,835 | 61.6 |
| Kiss 100 FM | 2,119,738 | 3,071,500 | 951,762 | 44.9 |
| LBC News 1152 (was LBC 1152 AM) | 1,372,981 | 1,014,633 | -358,348 | -26.1 |
| London’s Liberty 963-972 | 26,569 | 15,596 | -10,973 | -41.3 |
| Magic 105.4 | 3,092,312 | 3,553,067 | 460,755 | 14.9 |
| LBC 97.3 (was News Direct 97.3FM) | 911,360 | 612,434 | -298,926 | -32.8 |
| Premier Christian Radio | 266,611 | 360,191 | 93,580 | 35.1 |
| Virgin 105.8 FM | 1,523,907 | 1,191,695 | -332,212 | -21.8 |
| XFM | 721,654 | 981,450 | 259,796 | 36.0 |
| *Excludes Fusion 107.3, Millennium 106.8 FM, Sunrise Radio | ||||
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