Heart Beats Strong In Latest Radio Figures
Chrysalis Radio’s Heart 106.2FM came out well in the June 1999 RAJAR figures, released yesterday afternoon. The London pop station showed an increase of just under four million listeners a week (30.5%) when compared to the previous RAJAR period to March 1999. Heart’s share of listening in London was also up, by 1.0% points to a share of 5.5%.
Capital 95.8FM remains the capital’s most popular station, with a weekly reach of 3.1 million, up 4.1% in the June figures. Capital’s share of London listening now stands at 13.1%, up 0.9% period on period. Capital Gold London’s share, on the other hand, dropped back 0.6% points to 4.7%. “The sustained performance by Capital Gold on the inferior AM wavelength keeps the station well poised to enter the digital age,” says Capital.
Chris Evans’ 105.8FM Virgin Radio London slipped back in both reach and share, as did the national Virgin station. In London Virgin’s share dropped back by 0.9% to 3.1% and reach fell by 10% to 1.1 million listeners.
| June 1999 RAJAR Weekly Reach (000s) Comparisons | ||||
| Station | Survey Period | Ending Mar 1999 | Ending Jun 1999 | % Change |
| 963/972 AM Liberty | Q | 61 | 43 | -29.5 |
| BBC GLR | Q | 294 | 291 | -1.0 |
| Capital 95.8 FM | Q | 2,971 | 3,094 | 4.1 |
| Capital Gold London | Q | 1,328 | 1,320 | -0.6 |
| Choice FM (London) | H | n/a | 255 | n/a |
| FLR (First Love Radio) | H | n/a | 2 | n/a |
| Heart 106.2 FM | Q | 1,273 | 1,661 | 30.5 |
| Jazz FM 102.2 | Q | 610 | 587 | -3.8 |
| Kiss 100 FM | Q | 1,094 | 1,281 | 17.1 |
| LBC 1152 AM | Q | 487 | 400 | -17.9 |
| Magic FM | Q | 1,155 | 1,361 | 17.8 |
| News Direct 97.3FM | Q | 534 | 454 | -15.0 |
| Premier Christian Radio | Q | 198 | 176 | -11.1 |
| RTL Country 1035 AM | Q | 146 | 203 | 39.0 |
| Spectrum Radio on 558 AM | Q | 64 | 110 | 71.9 |
| Sunrise Radio (London) | Q | 286 | 399 | 39.5 |
| Virgin 105.8 FM London | Q | 1,240 | 1,116 | -10.0 |
| XFM | Q | 354 | 281 | -20.6 |
| June 1999 RAJAR Share Of Listening Comparisons | ||||
| Station | Survey Period | Ending Mar 1999 | Ending Jun 1999 | % Point Change |
| 963/972 AM Liberty | Q | 0.4 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| BBC GLR | Q | 1.2 | 0.6 | -0.6 |
| Capital 95.8 FM | Q | 12.2 | 13.1 | 0.9 |
| Capital Gold London | Q | 5.3 | 4.7 | -0.6 |
| Choice FM (London) | H | n/a | 2.1 | n/a |
| FLR (First Love Radio) | H | n/a | 0.1 | n/a |
| Heart 106.2 FM | Q | 4.5 | 5.5 | 1.0 |
| Jazz FM 102.2 | Q | 1.5 | 1.3 | -0.2 |
| Kiss 100 FM | Q | 2.9 | 3.3 | 0.4 |
| LBC 1152 AM | Q | 2.9 | 2.8 | -0.1 |
| Magic FM | Q | 5.6 | 6.2 | 0.6 |
| News Direct 97.3FM | Q | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| Premier Christian Radio | Q | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| RTL Country 1035 AM | Q | 0.9 | 0.5 | -0.4 |
| Spectrum Radio on 558 AM | Q | 0.4 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Sunrise Radio (London) | Q | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.2 |
| Virgin 105.8 FM London | Q | 4.0 | 3.1 | -0.9 |
| XFM | Q | 1.0 | 0.8 | -0.2 |
EMAP Radio’s development of Kiss FM at the end of last year (see Emap’s Kiss FM Sees Dramatic Restructuring) appears to have paid off. Kiss’ weekly reach is up 17.1% period on period to 1.3 million; its share of listening in London grew by 0.4% points to 3.3%. EMAP has recently rolled out a rebranding campaign and new logo for Kiss FM to build on its London audience (see Emap Radio Gives Kiss A New Look).
News stations LBC 1152AM and News Direct 97.3FM both dropped listeners in this set of figures, with reach down by 17.9% and 15.0% respectively.
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