Over 50s Get National Radio Station

Last week saw the launch of Primetime Radio, a national digital radio station targeting the over 50s. Owned by the Saga Group, it will broadcast on the Digital One network with a mixture of speech and music-based programming.

Ron Coles, director of Saga Radio, undertook research into the age group through the group’s Saga magazine. He found that 66% of the 65,000 respondents would like a radio service specific to their needs. Coles said: “The over 50 year old audience now accounts for a third of the UK population, and the 50-60 age group is one of the most affluent demographic age groups.”

Advertisers have become increasingly aware of the growth and potential of the older sector, with Grey London launching a dedicated division for the over 50s earlier this year (see Feature: Grey Is The New Black As Advertisers Take On The Oldies).

Programming output on the station will initially be solely music-based with easy listening from the last six decades. Over the next six months ‘lifestyle-oriented’ speech-based programming covering a variety of topics from financial planning to health and fitness will be developed by the group.

This is the eighth station to broadcast from the Digital One network which launched at the end of last year (see Digital Radio Launches In The UK).

Primetime Radio: 020 7828 1954