BBC edges ahead with UK audience

Michael Hedges January 31, 2008

BBC’s lead over commercial broadcasters pushed higher, boosted both by local and national channels. And the latest audience survey shows another boost for digital platforms. Oh, and lots of people still listen to FM.

The UK radio audience survey released (Thursday January 31) by RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) was eagerly anticipated by broadcasting watchers after a week of hand-wringing over digital future and digital reality. One in six UK radio listeners (16.6%) tuned in via a digital platform, higher than ever. But why would it not be? A mere ten years ago the percentage was zero.

Competition among digital platforms – from DAB to mobile phones and the internet – is definitely a listeners’ market. RAJAR separately reported a 40% increase in UK households with DAB receivers. The market share of DAB platform listening has risen to 9.9%. Online listening also increased, to 1.9% share of all listening, still lower than online listening reported in France and Spain.

The big news, however, is that radio is not dead. Both the BBC and commercial broadcasters can point to encouraging evidence of health and wealth.

For the BBC the ‘gap’ between its overall market share and that of commercial broadcasters has widened in 2007. The BBC’s all-service market share stands now at 55.4% for Q4 2007. It was 56% in Q1 2007 but RAJAR cautions against comparing Q3 and Q4 2007 data against previous numbers because of a methodological change after Q2 2007. Five years ago the BBC’s all-service market share was 52.9% and the ‘gap’ was 7.6%. Today it’s 13%.

Among the national channels Radio 4 is up, and so is sports channel Five Live. The other – more or less – held tight the market shares. Talk channels - BBC and commercial, national and local – generally increased market share, also a trend seen in other countries.

But the much-maligned BBC local channels boosted market share to 10%, not the highest ever but certainly not the lowest. BBC London showed a 1.8% market share in the London market. Radio 4 surged in London to 15.4%, up but not a record. Five Live hit a 5.2% market share, as high as its received in three years.

Considerable attention always focuses on the commercial radio sector, largely local and considered in pain in recent years. More attention, recently, has gone to who owns what and whether or not the commercial sector can hold on to its ad market share. Owners – and their shareholders – are suspected to control destiny.

Stow that thought. GCap audience shares, on aggregate, fell, again. Classic FM, the national cash cow, dropped audience share but Capital FM, London’s ad billing leader, seems to have stabilized. Heart (Global) and Magic (ex-Emap, now Bauer) still tussle back and forth for number one in London, Heart winning this time.

Talk format LBC 97.3 got a boost in the London survey, its highest share in four years (3.8%) and the biggest gain of any London station. Sunrise, the Asian channel, took the London markets’ biggest hit.

Winter ratings are, like the season, universally dismal. The national survey was calculated in November and December. Speech-based stations, generally, increased. Whether or not music stations are losing share to iPods and downloads is a question for further deliberation.