RAJAR Results Q1 2005: Listeners Hungry For Breakfast Shows
Breakfast listening both nationally and in London has enjoyed an upward surge in audience with the majority of stations revealing growth in their weekly reach for the three months to March, according to the latest RAJAR figures.
Nationally, Kelvin Mackenzie’s talkSPORT stove off the competition to see a massive rise in its weekly reach of 31.81%, enjoying larger growth than rival BBC Radio FIVE LIVE, which revealed an increase of 10.23% for the same period. However, the corporation’s sporting station continues to best its commercial rival, with a total reach of 2.4 million compared to talkSPORT’s 1 million.
Total Virgin Radio stations also performed well, showing weekly reach growth of 8.79% quarter on quarter.
The national market leader for breakfast shows remained the BBC’s Radio 2, attracting 8.09 million listeners to Terry Wogan’s breakfast show during the first quarter of 2005.
Capital FM topped the charts, retaining its position as the clear favourite for Londoners in the morning, drawing in 1.24 million listeners, despite rising only 9.56% quarter on quarter in terms of weekly reach.
| RAJAR March 2005 National Stations Breakfast Weekly (000s) Reach | ||||
| Station | Q1, 2004 | Q4, 2004 | Q1, 2005 | QoQ % Change Q4 2004 on Q1 2005 |
| BBC Radio 1 (07.00 – 10.00am) | 5925 | 6286 | 6174 | -1.78 |
| BBC Radio 2 (07.30 – 09.30am) | 7719 | 8048 | 8092 | 0.55 |
| BBC Radio 3 (07.00 – 10.00am) | 830 | 791 | 836 | 5.69 |
| BBC Radio 4 (06.00-09.00am) | 6222 | 6155 | 6203 | 0.78 |
| BBC Radio FIVE LIVE (06.00-09.00am) | 2620 | 2180 | 2403 | 10.23 |
| Classic FM (07.00-11.00am) | 3186 | 3102 | 2982 | -3.87 |
| talkSPORT (06.00-09.00am) | 953 | 786 | 1036 | 31.81 |
| Total Virgin Radio (AM/FM) (06.00-10.00am) | 1217 | 1103 | 1200 | 8.79 |
On the flip side, rival station Heart 106.2, enjoyed an impressive 29.95% increase in its weekly reach. These figures are the last featuring veteran breakfast presenter, Jono Coleman, who after spending five years at the helm of the show has handed over the reins to Jamie Theakston (see Heart Ditches Coleman In Battle For London Supremacy).
LBC News enjoyed the largest influx of listeners during the period, notching up a rise of almost 33% quarter on quarter, signalling the capitals thirst for early morning news. Elsewhere, LBC 97.3 increased its weekly reach slightly, showing a rise of 3.56% quarter on quarter.
Soul station, Choice FM, reported the largest decline in audience, dropping 38.98% quarter on quarter in weekly reach, while Capital Gold followed suit with a 34.45% loss for the same period.
| RAJAR March 2005 London Stations Breakfast Weekly (000s) Reach | ||||
| Station | Q1, 2004 | Q4, 2004 | Q1, 2005 | QoQ % Change Q4 2004 on Q1 2005 |
| BBC London 94.9 (06.00-09.00am) | 253 | 168 | 202 | 20.24 |
| 95.8 Capital FM (06.00-09.00am) | 1378 | 1130 | 1238 | 9.56 |
| Capital Gold London (06.00-10.00am) | 477 | 389 | 255 | -34.45 |
| Choice FM London (06.00-09.00am) | 152 | 254 | 155 | -38.98 |
| Heart 106.2 FM (06.00-09.00am) | 833 | 748 | 972 | 29.95 |
| Jazz FM (London) (07.00-11.00am) | 323 | 321 | 312 | -2.80 |
| Kiss 100FM (06.00-09.00am) | 695 | 711 | 635 | -10.69 |
| LBC 97.3 (07.00-10.00am) | 435 | 281 | 291 | 3.56 |
| LBC News 1152 (06.30-09.30am) | 204 | 97 | 129 | 32.99 |
| Magic 105.4 (06.00-09.00am) | 621 | 684 | 831 | 21.49 |
| Total Virgin London (AM/FM) (06.00-10.00am) | 558 | 510 | 597 | 17.06 |
| XFM 104.9 (06.00-10.00am) | 304 | 297 | 258 | -13.13 |
Virgin London enjoyed an increase across both its AM and FM platforms, revealing a quarter on quarter rise of just over 17% in weekly reach, while, rival indie rock station, XFM, did not fair so well, with the RAJAR results showing a decline of 13.13%.
Virgin recently boosted the profile of its breakfast show, jumping onto the podcasting bandwagon and making the Pete and Geoff Breakfast Show available to download, enabling listeners to load it onto their MP3 players. Using this new technology makes Virgin the first commercial station to offer a podcasting service (see Virgin Makes Podvertising First With Pete And Geoff).
Magic FM enjoyed a surge in listeners, increasing its weekly reach by 21.49%, compared to rival Jazz FM which saw a drop of 2.8% quarter on quarter in its weekly reach. Jazz FM is soon to be rebranded Smooth FM in a move which will see a much more varied playlist adopted, broadening its appeal to listeners and advertisers alike (see Jazz FM Loses Veteran DJs In Transition To Smooth).
RAJAR: 0207 903 5350 www.rajar.co.uk