How has radio fared in RAJAR Q2 2019?

In the second RAJAR survey of 2019, commercial radio has smashed its own record and achieved the highest ever weekly reach. But, how have stations across Wales fared?

Local

Locally there were a few stations who stood out for not having a good quarter. 

One of those was 96.4 FM The Wave who’s reach decreased by 28,000 to 115,000. Their reach % also decreased by 6% to 24%, the biggest drop across all the stations The Media Angel surveyed.

Local stations in Swansea also took a hit. Swansea Bay Radio’s reach was down 8,000 to 21,000. Swansea Sound also lost 8,000 in reach, down to 40,000.

Capital experience a mixed bag of results. Capital South Wales’ reach increased by 14,000 to 231,000. However, Capital North West and Wales’ reach dropped by 6,000 to 140,000.

Although still the largest radio station in Wales, Heart South Wales’ reach also decreased significantly, down 16,000 to 394,000. Kiss (West) and Smooth North West and Wales experience reach losses of 15,000 and 12,000 respectively.

The station with the most loyal listeners is Heart South Wales with 8.8 hours per listener. Smooth Radio South Wales saw the biggest drop in listener hours against the stations The Media Angel surveyed, with a decline of 3.8 hours to 7.2 per listener.

Radio Pembrokeshire still retains its’ position with the highest weekly reach at 35%, followed by The Wave with 24% and Capital South Wales at 22%.

National

Across national radio, the biggest loss had to go to Zoe Ball who lost 780,000 weekly listeners from her Radio 2 breakfast show.

Zoe Ball took over from Chris Evans in January, after he left the station to join Virgin Radio. In the second quarter of 2019, Ball’s figures fell from 9.05m to 8.27m.

Chris, meanwhile, has added 63,000 listeners to his Virgin Radio breakfast show – now reaching 1,111,000 across the (compared with 1,048,000 in Q1/19). That helped Virgin Radio UK increase its overall reach as a station from 1.3m to 1.545m – a jump of 18% quarter on quarter.

Global is celebrating its highest ever weekly reach (25.6m), hours (238m) and share (23.4%) as a group, with the country’s biggest four commercial radio brands being Heart (9.7m), Capital (8.2m), Smooth (5.7m) and Classic FM (5.6m). Kiss is 5th with 5.3m listeners.

The new Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, Vick Hope & Sonny Jay reaches 3.796m – that’s an increase from Q1/19 but a drop of 164,000 from a year ago when the shows were presented regionally.

Greg James posts his highest figures since taking over Radio 1 breakfast last summer – his Monday to Thursday show has 5.69m listeners aged 10+, compared with 5.44m last year.

Digital

If you want to make sure you’re using your marketing budget to its full potential, then give our team a call on 02921 320 200 or email at [email protected]

Sources

https://mediatel.co.uk/newsline/2019/08/01/rajar-q2-2019-national-stations-and-networks

RAJAR Q2 2019: The quarterly radio Infographic is here

RAJAR Q2 2019: London and national brands round-up

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49179840

RAJAR

Radio stations surveyed:

102.5 Radio Pembrokeshire, 106.3 Bridge FM, 96.4 FM The Wave, Capital North West and Wales, Capital South Wales, Heart North Wales, Heart South Wales, Kiss (West), Radio Carmarthenshire and Scarlet FM, Radio Ceredigion, Smooth Radio North West and Wales, Smooth Radio South Wales, Swansea Bay Radio (surveyed as Nation Hits!), Nation Radio South Wales, Swansea Sound – 1170 MW

RAJAR Q4: What you need to know

Today we received the most up to date listening figures for radio in Wales; giving us insight into the current listening patterns of Welsh radio fans.

We have put together a brief overview of the top line stats.

Wales

Heart South Wales has continued to be the number one commercial radio station in Wales with 487,000 listeners (up 3,000 listeners from Q3) 26%, tuning in every week.

Capital South Wales gained 7,000 additional listeners, reaching 208,000 listeners per week, 20%.

Unfortunately once again The Wave has not had a successful Quarter, losing 17,000 listeners; however, they have still achieved a strong reach of 25%.

Radio Pembrokeshire continues to achieve the highest percentage weekly reach of any radio station in Wales at 38%, a 2% increase on Q3.

Smooth South Wales listening hours remain strong with the average person listening for 15.5 hours a week – an increase of nearly 2 hours per listener a week, closest competitor is Swansea Sound at 10.7 hours

Capital North Wales and Heart North Wales both saw a loss of listeners with 13% and 2%.

National 

Capital drops from 2m listeners to 1.7m, whilst Heart loses 321,000 listeners going from 1.683m to 1.362m.

Magic has also lost reach, dropping from 1.804m to 1.723m but remains in third place amongst commercial stations behind Capital.

Radio X is up this quarter nationally but down in London. Chris Moyles’s show is nationally up by 14,000

The top 5 London commercial stations are

5. LBC (1m listeners)
6. Heart (1.362m)
7. Magic (1.723m)
8. Capital (1.730m)
9. Kiss (1.860m)

Digital 

National commercial digital listening hours continue to grow increasing by 21% year-on-year to account for almost three quarters (73%) of all national commercial listening, following the launch of the second national DAB commercial network broadcasting 19 national commercial stations in March 2016.

If you need help ensuring your marketing budget is invested in the right radio stations and media platforms so you STAND OUT and get results contact our award winning team for impartial media planning and buying expertise on [email protected] or call us on 02921 320200

 

New audio measurement introduced by DAX.

‘Groundbreaking’ is the word being used to describe the effective new measurement tool for audio introduced by DAX. The new tool will allow advertisers to measure and track the impact of their advertising on a deeper level.

The new ‘Listener ID’ tracking capabilities was announced at the IAB Upfronts last week. Brands are now able to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns on digital audio platforms including SoundCloud, audioBoom, Global’s Heart, Capital and Radio X, and Bauer Media’s KISS.

Agencies and advertisers will now have the ability to profile their audiences based on a range of consumers attributes, while also tracking the user interaction and the journey on their sites to help understand which creative routes are driving traffic for campaigns.

“This is hugely significant and a big step forward for the audio market,” said Mike Gordon, chief commercial officer at Global and one of the founders of DAX.

“The introduction of ‘listener ID’ means that advertisers will have deeper insights into the behavior of listeners after they are served ads, and how different advertising is performing for their brands. We are going to start rolling this out to clients this week.”

‘Listener ID’ will be introduced to brands advertising on DAX – with regular advertisers including Camelot, CineWorld, Go Compare, Asda and Lyst.

If you need help in choosing the right radio stations to use as part of your media mix, we are here to help. Just get in touch with experts from South Wales’s award winning Media Planning and Buying Agency at [email protected] or call on 02921 320 200.

RAJAR Q3: What you need to know!

Last Thursday we received the most up to date listening figures for radio across the UK; giving us insight into the current listening patterns of radio fans.

As an advertiser using radio, or if you are planning to do so, here are some key points to take away from this quarter’s report:

• Heart South Wales achieved a record weekly listening figure 544,000 – a massive 94,000 increase from Q2 and the highest improving reach than all other stations in Wales for this quarter!

• Capital South Wales ranks the second most popular station, with 250,000 listeners tuning each week. Capital sees a recovery of around 16,000 listeners!

• It was discovered that listeners to Smooth South Wales tune in for 11.5 hours on average every week; the highest average of all stations per week

• Town and Country Broadcasting stations, which include Nation Radio and Hits, Bridge FM, Radio Pembrokeshire enjoyed a steady quarter, with listening hours increasing along with market share.

• Nation Radio acquired a higher number of male listeners and a large number of ABC1 listeners

• Radio Pembrokeshire continues to have the largest percentage weekly reach at 38% followed by The Wave at 31%, Heart South Wales at 29% and Bridge FM at 28%

• Radio Pembrokeshire has the highest listening share in TSA % at 19.6%

• The Wave was recorded to reach around 148,000 listeners per week; the station has enjoyed a large reach increase of 9,000 listeners compared with last quarter

• Kiss 101 in BBC Radio Wales transmission area unfortunately recorded the highest loss of listeners, down 77,000 since last quarter

• Similarly, Capital North West and Wales was down 18,000 listeners in this quarter compared to last

• On a more national scale, many commercial stations have reported their highest ever reach including Heart (9.1 million), Capital (7.4 million), Kiss (5.5 million), Absolute (4.2 million).

• This quarter also highlighted a “tipping point” for digital listening; DAB platforms are now used by 56% of the UK adult population each week. Digital signals take up less space on the airwaves, meaning more stations are available for advertisers (and over half of the UK population are now listening to these stations!)

There has never been a better time to advertise on radio. Radio is a great frequency builder offering a cost effective and trusted platform for your advertising. As this quarter’s RAJAR figures suggest, radio remains hugely popular for people in Wales.

More people in Wales listen to radio, and they listen for longer, than the UK as a whole. In 2014, radio services reached 94.5% of the adult population in Wales. (Ofcom Communications Market Report, 2015)

Get in touch with our team at The Media Angel for more insight on audience data on RAJAR; we can help advise on the best radio stations available to suit your campaign objectives.