The battle for the number one spot in London is as strong as ever!

Mike Williamson, head of radio at Carat, on today’s RAJAR results and why there is huge potential for national brands to take a higher share of ad spend…

An encouraging set of results with many success stories. It’s good to see All Radio’s reach remain above 47 million for the third consecutive quarter.

Global will be delighted to see Capital London record its highest reach figure in eight years, taking it back to the number one spot in the city. Capital and Heart’s TV marketing campaigns during this period seem to have had a direct effect on their listening figures.

Magic, meanwhile, plans to launch a TV campaign in November, so the healthy battle for the coveted number one spot in London is as strong as ever!

Recently formed ‘national’ stations such as Capital and Smooth continue to grow. This is great for advertisers who are always looking to align themselves with big media brands. Listener growth and relaxed regulations means there is huge potential for these brands to take a higher share of advertiser spend.

Digital radio listening also continues its momentum. The increasingly popular Radioplayer has pushed internet listening hours up by 32% year on year.

Several digital only stations have also had stunning results – most notably Absolute 80s, which now has over one million listeners. It’s impressive to see that 69% of listening to Absolute’s network of stations is via a digital platform – way ahead of the market. This shows the potential of the digital radio platforms, which are now showing real signs of establishing themselves as the future of radio listening.