Rajar Q3 Released

Rajar Q3 data released on Friday shows that BBC Radio now has a share of listening of 48.9%, giving it a slight lead over Commercial Radio which has a share of 48.8%.

Virgin (AM) was the only National Commercial station to record a loss in its weekly reach while BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 3 both increased their reach by 1 % point.

Commercial radio revenue continues to grow and estimates show that revenue has broken the £300 million barrier up to September for the first time, giving it an increase of 18.3% on the same quarter last year.

Figures released this week by the Advertising Association show that Commercial Radio has increased its share of the display marketplace with a figure of 4.5% for the year to June 96.

Overall among the local commercial stations in Q3 1996 there was a year-on-year decline in both reach and share of listening. Weekly reach fell from 51% last year to 50% this year while share of listening declined from 39.9% to 39.3%.

Average hours listened to radio in the London region has fallen for the majority of the stations while weekly reach increased for only a few, notably LBC 1152MW. Premier Radio had the biggest decrease in reach, down 36.2% on 1995 figures.