RAJAR Results Q4 2004: Digital Stations See Boom In Listenership

The nation’s digital stations saw a strong performance throughout the fourth quarter of 2004, undoubtedly fuelled by purchases of digital radio receivers in the run up to the Christmas period.

Digital commercial radio performed admirably towards the end of the year, with Emap’s Heat adding a spectacular 124.1% to its weekly reach year on year, while the company’s Mojo Radio added an equally impressive 82.4%, and secured a 0.1% share of listening, in the same period. Elsewhere digital speech station, Oneword, saw its reach extend by an impressive 75% as it continued to work with Channel 4 on the creation of a branded speech offering (see Channel 4 Plans To Launch National Talk Radio Station).

The BBC saw particularly strong performances from its digital stations, BBC 6 Music and BBC7, which added 53.5% and 46.4% respectively to their weekly reach. The increases in digital audiences are in line with predictions made in December by the BBC, claiming that sales of DAB digital radios would reach, and exceed, one million units by January 2005 (see DAB Radio Sales Expected To Reach 1 Million By January).

Meanwhile the Corporation’s flagship youth station, Radio 1, added 5.1% to its reach year on year, stopping just short of a 10 million total and increasing its share of listening by 0.5% points. BBC Radio 2 also added to its reach, retaining its position as the UK’s most listened to radio station with a total weekly audience of 13.3 million, up by 1.2% year on year. The station also boosted its share of listening, adding 0.4% points year on year.

Elsewhere, things were less rosy for the Corporation’s sports station, BBC Radio Five Live, which suffered a 2.4% dip year on year in weekly reach and saw its share of listening slip by 0.1% points. The station, which is currently under investigation by Ofcom over its bidding for sports rights, will have its troubles compounded by the comparative success of rival commercial station, talkSPORT (see Ofcom Investigating BBC Over Anti-Competitive Rights Bids).

Kelvin MacKenzie’s Wireless Group enjoyed a successful end to 2004 overall, with talkSPORT increasing its reach by 6.9% year on year to just under 2 million, as well as increasing its share of listening by 0.2% points.

Meanwhile, Classic FM saw its weekly reach dip by 0.1% year on year in the fourth quarter, but increased its overall audience share by 0.1% in the same period. Virgin Radio was less fortunate, as the Scottish Media Group’s rock and indie station lost 4.4% of its weekly reach, but managed to maintain its 1.4% audience share. October saw the station launch a high-profile marketing campaign to increase Breakfast share (see Virgin Launches Campaign To Boost Breakfast Share), but will be disheartened by the success of principal rival, Capital-owned Xfm.

Capital’s London-based alternative music station has seen impressive growth in recent months, adding 12.9% to its total weekly reach year on year. The station now commands an audience share of 0.5%, up 0.1% year on year. Capital has recently attempted to broaden Xfm’s availability, undertaking regional FM trials in Manchester and launching its own line of branded digital radios (see Capital To Boost Digital Radio With X-fm Branded Sets).

Capital Gold, looked less optimistic at the end of 2004, however, with the station’s total weekly reach sliding by 20.9% year on year. Station bosses will be comforted by an increase in share of listening, however, which rose by 0.1% points in the same period. Elsewhere, Chrysalis Radio’s Heart stations saw weekly reach dip by 7.9% year on year, while share of listening also fell by 0.5% points.

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