The Talk of Radio

Michael Hedges January 30, 2009 Follow on Twitter

The news of the week is that news is back. And it’s on the radio. More people are tuning in. Digital platforms matter, too. What’s not to like?

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) released Q4 2008 UK radio audience results and two suspected trends seem confirmed. Radio listening is up in the UK, mirroring similar trends seen elsewhere. News and talk – speech-based programming – is also on the rise. The two trends may be related.

That BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s top rated radio channel makes no headline. Its 15.8% market share is up slightly from 15.7% in Q4 2007. Perhaps getting rid of Russell Brand’s Saturday show did the trick.

The headline is BBC Radio 4’s jump to 12.4% market share, allegedly the highest in seven years. For Q4 2007 Radio 4 posted a 11.8% market share, a market share change twice again the average aggregate change of all radio channels in the national survey. Moreover – and here’s the big headline – in London Radio 4 reached a 17.5% market share from 15.4% one year on. 

News and talk are Radio 4’s forte. High profile hosts and a content rich environment – from the global economic meltdown to the US presidential election – brought in the listeners. Sir Terry Wogan’s Breakfast Show also hit a peak. Another possibility, to plague music channels, is fragmentation of music interests satisfied by iPods coupled with an evaporation of mass market music with staying power. In short, music today stinks.

Overall radio’s reach in the UK increased year on year by 1.2%. Considering the maturity of the UK media market, an increase of this proportion – to 45,551,000 persons – is jaw dropping. Most other media are witnessing far less devotion from their fans.

Some of this increase in radio reach must be attributed to digital platforms. Listening via one of the several digital platforms increased to 32.2% from 29.9% year on year.

Listening share via DAB reached 11.4% from 9.9% one year on but growth has slowed considerably. Listening via mobile phone, now leading DAB listening, grew to 12.3% from 9.4% year on year. Listening via other digital platforms was more of less unchanged. Several DAB exclusive channels – notably Planet Rock - gained audience in Q4, though all remain low in the rankings. Most ironically, Global Media’s Mojo gained nearly 17% year on year. It was closed at the end of 2008.

UK Communication Minister Stephen Carter’s interim Digital radio report, released shortly after release of the RAJAR figures, again telegraphed government support for migration to DAB from FM as the primary radio platform. As expected Lord Carter crystal-ball gazes FM shut-off when half of UK radio listening is bourn on digital platforms, when coverage for national channels is comparable to FM and when local DAB coverage reaches 90% of the population. He has asked for yet another commission to organize a plan to bring together receiver manufacturers, automobile makers, multiplex owners and broadcasters.

Radio 1 fell to 10.1% nationally from 10.3%.  BBC3 and Five Live gained. BBC digital channels made neither significant gains nor major losses.

The three national commercial channels – Classic FM, TalkSport and Absolute Radio (formerly Virgin Radio) – all lost audience. Absolute Radio was on the air under its new name for but such a short time one must not be too critical of the 20% audience loss. Media Guardian’s John Plunkett noted that 45% of Absolute Radio’s audience is via a digital platform rather than the old AM thing. In total the national commercial channels posted the smallest aggregate market share since Q4 2006.

Local commercial stations fared better, rising in aggregate to 31.6% market share from 31.1% one year on. It was not, however, sufficient to see a narrowing of THE GAP between the BBC and commercial radio. (See The Gap in Resources)

London market results show, if anything, extreme audience volatility. This, as any programmer knows, is a good thing as listeners are checking out different stations. The down-side is paralyzing management anxiety.

Radio 4’s huge gain in the London market, mentioned above, is good evidence that listeners gravitate toward big brand names and the social currency raised by highly skilled communicators. The results for other BBC channels in the London survey area were mixed; Radio 1 slightly down, Radio 2 down sufficiently to welcome a new program controller, Five Live down a bit and Radio 3 up to its highest market share in two years.

Magic 105.4 leads the London commercial stations. It has a 6.0% market share. Last year it had a 6.1% market share and ranked number two among commercial stations. Heart 106.2 took a serious hit, falling to 5.0% from 6.2% year on year.  The aggregate market share of Magic and Heart – a measure of dazed listening – fell to the lowest since Q4 2005. Capital Radio was up a tad to 4.8% market share from 4.7% one year on.

The new Absolute Radio opened lower in London – 3.0% market share – than Virgin Radio’s closing 3.3%. Kiss 100 was unchanged at 4.0% market share. Stations at the lower end of the ranking generally teetered back and forth; Gold London up more than most, Sunrise down more than most.

Once again, the listeners have spoken.

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