Rajar Q3 2017: Round-up

National stations and networks

Both Bauer and Global reported some impressive increases in weekly reach in the third quarter of 2017, while BBC stations posted a mixed bag of results.

For Bauer, Magic was up 12.3% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), Absolute Radio and Kerrang both up 16.9% QoQ, Absolute Radio 90s up 16.1% QoQ and Magic Chilled up 33% QoQ.

Meanwhile, Global’s Capital XTRA UK was up 22.6% QoQ, Heart 80s up 27.5% QoQ, Smooth Extra up 15.1% QoQ and Radio X Network UK up 9.5% QoQ.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra led the charge at the BBC with a 31.9% increase in weekly reach, while BBC 6 Music was up 8.7% QoQ.

Meanwhile, BBC Radio 2 was up 3.2% QoQ, BBC Radio 1 up 1.2% QoQ, BBC Radio 4 (including 4 Extra) down -2.2% QoQ and BBC Radio 3 down -4.8% QoQ.

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Digital

More than 6 in 10 adults (aged 15+) currently listen to radio via a digital platform, according to the latest Rajar results for the third quarter of 2017.

In total, 33 million people now tune in to radio via a digitally enabled receiver – DAB, digital TV or online – each week.

In an average week, digital listening accounts for 511 million hours; DAB has a 74% share of digital listening hours, digital TV 10% and online 16%.

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Breakfast

National

Radio 1’s 6.30am – 10am breakfast slot shed more than a tenth (10.3%) of listeners in the third quarter of 2017 – down from 5.5 million in Q2 to 4.9 million, an all time low.

The Nick Grimshaw-fronted show was also down -6% year-on-year (YoY) – the biggest yearly decline in the national breakfast market.

BBC Radio 3 also performed badly, down -13.1% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), as did BBC Radio 4 which was down -7.8% QoQ. BBC Radio Five Live was also down -3.4% QoQ.

Chris Evans’ BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, however, was up by 3.9% QoQ and 3.3% YoY, averaging a little less than 9.4 million listeners each week.

While Global’s Classic FM was down -9.6% compared with the previous quarter, the group’s Radio X Network UK increased weekly listeners by 9.7% QoQ and 17.1% YoY – a standout winner in terms of yearly gains.

Bauer’s Magic also performed well over the quarter, up 18.8%, as did talkSPORT, up 14.8%.

Absolute Radio Network was also up 5.4% QoQ, while Kiss recorded a very small -1.2% decline in weekly listeners. However, the Bauer-owned station was up 9.8% over the year.

London

The first two quarters of the year proved to be bumpy for the capital’s radio market, and that trend continued in the third quarter.

Capital London, which booted Kiss London out of the top spot at the start of the year, managed to maintain the top position and was up 2.7% in Q3. The station now has a little over 1.1 million listeners and was up 7.1% over the year.

Meanwhile, Kiss dropped -1.5% to 900,000 in the second quarter. The station was up 5.5% year-on-year, however.

Following a series of huge boosts in the first half of the year, the summer recess and Brexit tedium was perhaps responsible for a decline in listening at Global’s LBC. The station was down -21% in Q3, shedding 190,000 listeners. However, it was up 14.7% YoY.

Meanwhile, Magic London was up 6.6% in Q3, while Heart London was down -25.2%.

Elsewhere, Absolute Radio (London), which took a severe tumble in Q2, returned to normal levels – with a 97.3% boost putting it back on track with 436,000 listeners.