RAJAR Results Q2 2005:Digital Leads The Way In National Radio

Digital stations continue to top the charts in terms of growth according to the latest RAJAR data, with figures for Q2 2005 showing the BBC and Commercial broadcasters notching up positive growth as sales of DAB radios increase.

Chrysalis’ The Arrow saw the largest percentage growth in weekly reach, adding 229.17% year on year in the three months to June, although the station’s audience remains small in comparison to its rivals, at just 79,000.

Larger digital stations such as the BBC’s 6 Music were similarly fortunate, adding 43% year on year, while the Corporation’s youth-focused BBC 7 added 21.65% in the same period. The stations now command audiences of 286,000 and 472,000 respectively.

Commercial music stations Planet Rock and Q also enjoyed growth, expanding their weekly reach by 72.85% and 3.74% respectively to command totals of 382,000 and 361,000.

Meanwhile, Virgin Radio continued to focus on expanding its digital offerings, with Virgin Radio Classic Rock launching live programming towards the end of the quarter (see Virgin To Boost Rock Station With Live Output).

The new content is clearly intended to broaden the station’s appeal, and although the latest RAJAR data shows a period on period decline of 20.6% in weekly reach, Virgin will clearly be hoping for a better result next quarter.

Virgin was not alone in seeing listenership decline in the latest RAJAR results, as several digital stations failed to add to their audiences. GCap Media’s Core saw the largest dip in weekly reach, slipping by 32.58% year on year to 89,000, while several high-profile stations also suffered declines.

Emap’s The Hits lost 10.91% from its audience year on year, but remained one of the most-listened to digital stations, with a weekly reach of 784,000.

BBC Radio 2 remains the UK’s largest station, despite a dip of 1.2%, with a weekly reach of 13.27 million. The Corporation’s flagship music station Radio 1 performed better, adding 5.32% to its audience in the same period to top the 10 million mark. The station’s weekly reach now stands at 10.24 million, its highest since the beginning of 2003.

The majority of the UK’s radio stations saw their share of listening remain static, or subject to only marginal change year on year during the three months to June, although BBC Radio 1 bucked the trend to add 0.9% points to its share, which now totals 9.2%, its highest share since September 2001.

Elsewhere, the Classic Gold Network suffered a 0.4% point dip in its share, which now stands at 1.9%. Sunrise Radio National also saw a decline, shedding 0.3% points year on year in the three months to June, as did Galaxy Network. The stations now command shares of 0.3% and 1.6% respectively.

Digital stations saw the largest growth in average hours per listener in the three months to June, as new owners of digital radios continued to explore the medium’s enhanced choice and find stations catering more specifically to their tastes.

Saga’s PrimeTime Radio saw the largest percentage growth in average hours year on year, adding 130.61% to total 11.3. However, the largest actual rise was notched up by The Virgin Radio Groove, which added a massive 352% period on period, rising from just 2.5 hours on average in Q1 to 11.3 hours in the latest RAJAR data.

The BBC’s digital stations also enjoyed extended listening hours, with BBC 6 Music’s total rising by 71.88% to 5.5 hours. However, this represents a decline of 17.9% period on period.

BBC Radio 2 maintains its position at the top of the table, with average hours per listener totaling 12.9%. This is no change year on year, but represents a dip of 1.53% period on period.

BBC Radio 4 saw a similar performance, with no change year on year to its average total of 12.4, but a period on period decline of 4.6%.

Commercial speech-based rival LBC was more fortunate, however, adding 21.36% to its average hours year on year, and 35.87% period on period. The station’s average hours now total 12.5.

RAJAR: 0207 903 5350 www.rajar.co.uk