RAJAR Results Q3 2002 – National Stations

A year on year comparison of listening for national radio stations during the third quarter of 2002 reveals an impressive period for speech-based station, BBC Radio 4, which saw its weekly reach increase by 6.1%. The station, which is squarely aimed at older listeners, also performed well in terms of share.

The three months to September saw national sports stations build on the success afforded them by the World Cup. TalkSPORT, which has no doubt been boosted by recent the closure of TEAMtalk 252, saw its weekly reach increase by 7.6% year on year, whilst its share of listening also increased. Radio 5 Live also performed strongly, with a notable increase in reach and an improvement in share.

Once again, BBC Radio 2 proved its continuing popularity with a 2.2% increase in reach, keeping it comfortably in the lead among the national stations. Its share also increased suggesting that heavy cross-promotion on the BBC’s TV channels is paying off. Also doing well is Classic FM, which recently celebrated its tenth birthday.

At the other end of scale, Virgin AM saw its weekly reach decline during the third quarter of this year and BBC Radio 1 also had a less than impressive period.

Subscribers can access the full report by selecting “Radio” from the drop-down box at the top of this page.