Spring RAJARs: Has BBC Radio made all the right moves?

Michael Hedges May 13, 2005

The Spring (Q1) RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) audience figures for UK radio listening were released last week. BBC Radio has now stretched its lead over commercial radio to more than 10% market share, 54.2% for the BBC and 43.8% for commercial radio.

The UK commercial radio operators need to book flights to Geneva and schedule quality time with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for the latest tips in hand-wringing. EBU has institutionalized wailing about commercial media overtaking public media and turning all media into a Clear Channel franchise. It seems BBC’s managers, program controllers and marketing whiz-kids misplaced the worry-beads.

Radio 2 increased its market share to 16.5% from 15.3% one year on, while Radio 4 increased to 11.4% from 11.0% and Radio 1 increased to 8.4% from 7.6%. Five Live actually lost a slice, even when digital channel Five Live Sports Extra’s fractional share is added in, to 4.6% from 5.1%.

The aggregated total market share for BBC local and regional channels, however, continued trending lower, to 10.8% from 11.1%.

Overall, digital radio in the UK continues to rock. In the Q1 2005 reporting period, January through March, 19 million people tuned in to DAB, internet or digital TV, up one year on from 13 million. Virgin Radio’s Classic Rock channel grew 21% in three months.

The six BBC digital-only channels added only 0.1% market share to the total, now 1.4% from 1.3% in Q1 2004. BBC 7, which features comedy and drama, has more than doubled its share, to 0.3% from 0.1%; nice, but miniscule. The World Service holds a 0.5% share. 

The UK’s commercial radio stations, overwhelmingly local or, at best, regional, have often and loudly bemoaned their lack of national reach. Local commercial stations, in aggregate, lost 2% market share over the year while the few national commercial station increased a tad, to 10.2% from 10.0%.

Work on a faux-national “program” for commercial station is reportedly in progress as commercial radio broadcasters debate strategic or tactical moves.

A drop in audience for commercial radio’s products can only compound the headache in the board-rooms as media buyers have already hinted ad spending for the radio sector might also drift lower. Chrysalis owned Heart FM exploded to a 7% market share in London, up from 5.3% in Q4 2004, sending the Chrysalis share price by midday Thursday, May 5th, the day of the RAJAR release, to 158.75p, up 7.8%. Five short days later, after releasing lower financial results, the Chrysalis share price dropped 7%.  Shares in not-quite yet merged Capital, owner of Capital FM, dislodged by Heart from its leading position in London, dropped slightly after the audience figures were released. Heart FM and Capital FM have fiercely battled for the London top spot, trading back and forth, for three years.

The BBC isn’t holding all the cards in this game but the two they have, if the listening trends are considered, are brand strength through national coverage and talent. The biggest gains for the BBC are with the channels with well-known, well-developed franchise talent, arguably high priced. Radio 2 show-host Terry Wogan posted his biggest audience ever in the recent survey. Even the BBC’s digital gains came to speech-based channels. Local commercial stations tend to be music-only juke-boxes with ads. BBC channels carry no advertising, though non-broadcast activities can have sponsored components.

All radio listening increased: 0.5% comparing Q1 2005 with Q4 2004 and 0.3% comparing the recent numbers with the same period one year on, now 44.04 million listeners.