Magic FM Stays On Top In London While Kiss 100 FM Blossoms
Emap’s pop music station, Magic FM, has kept hold of the top spot in London, increasing its reach and share of listening, whilst Emap’s urban station, Kiss 100 FM, has rallied since last quarter.
Latest RAJAR figures for Q2 2006 show Kiss has narrowed the gap on third place, raising its weekly reach by a sizeable 16.38% since the last quarter, giving it a weekly reach of 1.49 million listeners. The station’s share of listening also saw a growth spurt, from 3.7% in Q1 to 4.4% for this quarter.
Magic’s share of listening dropped 0.5% points from last quarter to 6.5%, but the station remains London’s most popular with a weekly reach of just over 1.86 million people, a 0.11% rise for the quarter and a massive 11.4% rise year on year. Last quarter, the station knocked Heart 106.2 FM from the top spot after Magic recorded its highest ever weekly reach (see Magic Steps Up To Take London Top Spot).
Capital Radio slipped to third place this quarter, dropping 0.5% points from its share of listening from 5.5% last quarter to 5%, with a weekly reach of 1.64 million, showing a 4.59% dip this quarter compared to last. The station has seen a 15.4% decline in its weekly reach year on year, despite attempts to keep listeners by implementing changes, such as a ‘not more than two ads per ad break’ policy (see Capital Ad Breaks Boost Cut-Through).
The station’s parent company, GCap Media, recently announced that its advertising revenues had fallen 6% year on year for the quarter ending June 30, with Capital largely to blame. However, the group was keen to stress that it was confident it could improve audience performance for Capital Radio with improved presentation, music and general content across the station, with the arrival in August of a new programme director and the roll-out of a marketing plan (see GCap Media’s Ad Revenue Drops).
Chrysalis’ Heart 106.2 FM has the second highest weekly reach of the London stations, with an audience of 1.66 million people, up slightly from last quarter. The station now commands a share of listening of 6.1%, up from 5.7% in Q1.
Virgin 105.8 FM now has a share of listening of 2.5%. The station has suffered a 14% dip in its weekly reach since the last period and now has an audience of 823,000 listeners in the capital. However, total Virgin Radio AM/FM (London) had a weekly reach of just over one million, which was down 2.96% on the previous quarter.
| June 2006 RAJAR Weekly Reach (000s) Comparisons | |||||||
| Station | Ending Jun 05 | Ending Sep 05 | Ending Dec 05 | Ending Mar 06 | Ending Jun 06 | YoY % Change Jun 05 vs Jun 06 | PoP % Change Mar 06 vs Jun 06 |
| Capital Radio | 1,940 | 1,805 | 1,802 | 1,720 | 1,641 | -15.41 | -4.59 |
| Heart 106.2 FM | 1,663 | 1,911 | 1,763 | 1,696 | 1,664 | 0.06 | -1.89 |
| Kiss 100 FM | 1,404 | 1,363 | 1,432 | 1,288 | 1,499 | 6.77 | 16.38 |
| Magic FM (London) | 1,676 | 1,712 | 1,672 | 1,865 | 1,867 | 11.40 | 0.11 |
| Virgin 105.8 FM London | 951 | 993 | 902 | 957 | 823 | -13.46 | -14.00 |
| June 2006 RAJAR Share Of Listening (%) Comparisons | |||||||
| Station | Ending Jun 05 | Ending Sep 05 | Ending Dec 05 | Ending Mar 06 | Ending Jun 06 | YoY % Change Jun 05 vs Jun 06 | PoP % Change Mar 06 vs Jun 06 |
| Capital Radio | 6.1 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.0 | -1.10 | -0.50 |
| Heart 106.2 FM | 5.0 | 6.4 | 6.0 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 1.10 | 0.40 |
| Kiss 100 FM | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 0.30 | 0.70 |
| Magic FM (London) | 5.1 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 1.40 | -0.50 |
| Virgin 105.8 FM London | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 0.20 | -0.90 |
RAJAR: 020 7292 9040 www.rajar.co.uk