Weekly reach increase for commercial radio
The latest RAJAR figures, for the fourth quarter of 2008, show that All Commercial radio enjoyed a year on year increase in weekly reach, although its average hours per listener figure was down over the same period.
All BBC also saw its average hours per listener figure drop year on year, while its weekly reach showed a slight increase.
Share of Listening
All Commercial’s share of listening was down year on year by 0.2 percentage points to leave its total at over 42%.
There was a year on year increase for All Local Commercial in Q4, up 0.5 percentage points to 31.6%.
However, All National Commercial saw its share of listening dip 0.7 percentage points year on year, to 10.6%.
It was a good quarter for All BBC radio, which grew its share 0.3 percentage points year on year to 55.7%, while All BBC Network Radio was up 1.0 percentage point over the same period, to grab a 46.4% share of listening.
BBC Local/Regional, meanwhile, dipped 0.7 percentage points year on year, leaving its share at 9.3%.
| Q4 2008 RAJAR Share Of Listening (%) Comparisons | |||||||
| Ending Dec 07 | Ending Mar 08 | Ending Jun 08 | Ending Sep 08 | Ending Dec 08 | YoY % Point Change Dec 07 vs Dec 08 | QoQ % Point Change Sep 08 vs Dec 08 | |
| All BBC | 55.4 | 56.8 | 55.5 | 54.9 | 55.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| All BBC Network Radio | 45.4 | 47.0 | 46.0 | 45.5 | 46.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
| BBC Local/Regional | 10.0 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 9.3 | -0.7 | 0.0 |
| All Commercial | 42.4 | 41.1 | 42.4 | 43.1 | 42.2 | -0.2 | -0.9 |
| All National Commercial | 11.3 | 10.7 | 11.2 | 11.0 | 10.6 | -0.7 | -0.4 |
| All Local Commercial (National TSA) | 31.1 | 30.3 | 31.2 | 32.0 | 31.6 | 0.5 | -0.4 |
| Other Listening | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | -0.1 | 0.0 |
Weekly Reach
All Commercial radio’s weekly reach now stands at 31.2 million listeners following a year on year rise of 1.6%.
All Local Commercial radio was also up year on year, by 2%, taking its reach to 25.1 million, while All National Commercial remained relatively static year on year, at 13.6 million, despite a 2% dip period on period.
Away from commercial radio, All BBC’s weekly reach was up by around 1% on Q4 2007, at 33.5 million, while All BBC Network Radio’s reach grew almost 2.5% year on year to 29.9 million.
BBC Local/Regional, however, was down 3.5% year on year, to just under 9.5 million listeners.
| Q4 2008 RAJAR Weekly Reach (000s) Comparisons | |||||||
| Ending Dec 07 | Ending Mar 08 | Ending Jun 08 | Ending Sep 08 | Ending Dec 08 | YoY % Change Dec 07 vs Dec 08 | QoQ % Change Sep 08 vs Dec 08 | |
| All BBC | 33,139 | 34,219 | 33,323 | 32,981 | 33,520 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| All BBC Network Radio | 29,234 | 30,282 | 29,611 | 29,331 | 29,923 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
| BBC Local/Regional | 9,818 | 10,293 | 9,504 | 9,296 | 9,471 | -3.5 | 1.9 |
| All Commercial | 30,716 | 31,019 | 30,984 | 31,180 | 31,210 | 1.6 | 0.1 |
| All National Commercial | 13,655 | 14,126 | 13,760 | 13,936 | 13,640 | -0.1 | -2.1 |
| All Local Commercial (National TSA) | 24,606 | 24,847 | 24,992 | 25,125 | 25,110 | 2.0 | -0.1 |
| Other Listening | 3,022 | 3,035 | 2,978 | 3,073 | 3,147 | 4.1 | 2.4 |
Average Hours Per Listener
Year on year analysis of average hours per listener showed falls across the board, with All BBC’s hours falling by around 1% and All Commercial’s down by around 2%.
Listeners are now sticking with All BBC for an average of just under 17 hours per week, while All Commercial has an average hours figure of around 13.5.
All BBC Network Radio dipped 0.6% year on year, to 15.7 hours per listener, while BBC Local /Regional fell almost 5% over the same period to around 10 hours.
There was a relatively large fall for All National Commercial’s average hours figure, down by 6% to around eight hours, although it was static period on period.
Listeners are now tuning in to All Local Commercial radio for an average of 12.7 hours following a year on year fall of 1.6%.
| Q4 2008 RAJAR Average Hours Per Listener Comparisons | |||||||
| Ending Dec 07 | Ending Mar 08 | Ending Jun 08 | Ending Sep 08 | Ending Dec 08 | YoY % Change Dec 07 vs Dec 08 | QoQ % Change Sep 08 vs Dec 08 | |
| All BBC | 17.0 | 17.2 | 16.9 | 16.7 | 16.8 | -1.2 | 0.6 |
| All BBC Network Radio | 15.8 | 16.0 | 15.8 | 15.6 | 15.7 | -0.6 | 0.6 |
| BBC Local/Regional | 10.4 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 10.1 | 9.9 | -4.8 | -2.0 |
| All Commercial | 14.0 | 13.7 | 13.9 | 13.9 | 13.7 | -2.1 | -1.4 |
| All National Commercial | 8.4 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.9 | -6.0 | 0.0 |
| All Local Commercial (National TSA) | 12.9 | 12.6 | 12.7 | 12.8 | 12.7 | -1.6 | -0.8 |
| Other Listening | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.9 | -6.8 | 1.5 |
RAJAR: 020 7292 9040 www.rajar.co.uk