Rachel_Sandford
News Hound
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
- Messages
- 198
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
Radio audience measurement, Rajar, released the radio figures for the second quarter of 2011.
The weekly reach of the entire BBC network rose from 31.8million to 32.1million, despite the fact that Five Live, Radio 1, 2, and 3 all lost listeners. The increase is being accredited to BBC Radio 4, which has enjoyed increasing audiences.
BBC Radio 4's Today show, presented by John Humphrys and James Naughtie, now has 7.2million listeners, adding over 150,000 listeners in the second quarter of the year. Featuring shows that reached record audiences, namely The Archers, Woman's Hour, PM and The World at One, the station's ratings were also helped by major news events, such as Osama Bin Laden's capture in the Middle East and the Royal Wedding.
Radio 4 Extra, which was rebranded from Radio 7, also increased from 1.16million to 1.61million. The station features extended versions of Radio 4 favourites such as an Archer's spin-off, Ambridge Extra, Desert Island Discs, The Now Show, and The News Quiz.
“Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra play a unique role in the country's cultural and news agenda, so I am delighted to see listeners tuning into them in record numbers,” said Director of BBC Audio & Music, Tim Davie. “Radio goes from strength to strength as a result of the industry's coordinated efforts and we are now seeing impressive performances and growth across the sector.”
Radio 2 breakfast show host and successor to Sir Terry Wogan, Chris Evans' lost half-a-million listeners in the second quarter, going from 9.2million to 8.6million. Despite the loss, he's still ahead of his rival, Radio 1 presenter Chris Moyles whose listeners went from 7.5million in the first quarter to 7.4million in the second quarter.
“I'm delighted to see that Mike Harding's folk show, Vanessa Feltz' early breakfast show and Zoe Ball's early breakfast show every Saturday morning have achieved record figures. The Chris Evans Breakfast Show continues to entertain, and I'm particularly proud that 30,000 young writers entered the 500 Words Children's Story Writing Competition this Spring,” said Lewis Carnie, Head of Programming at Radio 2. Carnie also added that the station was “in rude health.” Despite pulling in 14million listeners each week and achieving record audiences across several shows, it lost 4% of its listeners in the second quarter.
Radio 3 has also decreased in listeners, from 2.26million last quarter to 2.17million in the second. Radio 5 Live and its sister station, 5 Live, follows the trend with 6.80million listeners last year to 6.68million listeners this year. The 6 Music Station went from 1.3million listeners to 1.27million, while Classic FM went from 6.09million to 5.7million weekly. TalkSPORT remained stable at 3.2million weekly.
Magic 105.4 is the most listened to station in London, with 2.2million listeners. It beats out Heart 106.2, which only has 1.99million, and Capital 95.8, which has 2.07million.
Though figures are decreasing across stations and shows, Rajar's figures did show that radio listening is at a high, with 91.7% of the population tuning in each week. More than 34million people listen to commercial radio in the UK.
Perhaps a lot of this is due to digital radio. 1Xtra, the digital urban music station, has been enjoying almost 1million listeners each week, and Rajar's figures show that digital radio accounts for 26.9% of all listening. Though it may be a while before the country has a complete digital switchover, it seems that it's well on its way.
The weekly reach of the entire BBC network rose from 31.8million to 32.1million, despite the fact that Five Live, Radio 1, 2, and 3 all lost listeners. The increase is being accredited to BBC Radio 4, which has enjoyed increasing audiences.
BBC Radio 4's Today show, presented by John Humphrys and James Naughtie, now has 7.2million listeners, adding over 150,000 listeners in the second quarter of the year. Featuring shows that reached record audiences, namely The Archers, Woman's Hour, PM and The World at One, the station's ratings were also helped by major news events, such as Osama Bin Laden's capture in the Middle East and the Royal Wedding.
Radio 4 Extra, which was rebranded from Radio 7, also increased from 1.16million to 1.61million. The station features extended versions of Radio 4 favourites such as an Archer's spin-off, Ambridge Extra, Desert Island Discs, The Now Show, and The News Quiz.
“Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra play a unique role in the country's cultural and news agenda, so I am delighted to see listeners tuning into them in record numbers,” said Director of BBC Audio & Music, Tim Davie. “Radio goes from strength to strength as a result of the industry's coordinated efforts and we are now seeing impressive performances and growth across the sector.”
Radio 2 breakfast show host and successor to Sir Terry Wogan, Chris Evans' lost half-a-million listeners in the second quarter, going from 9.2million to 8.6million. Despite the loss, he's still ahead of his rival, Radio 1 presenter Chris Moyles whose listeners went from 7.5million in the first quarter to 7.4million in the second quarter.
“I'm delighted to see that Mike Harding's folk show, Vanessa Feltz' early breakfast show and Zoe Ball's early breakfast show every Saturday morning have achieved record figures. The Chris Evans Breakfast Show continues to entertain, and I'm particularly proud that 30,000 young writers entered the 500 Words Children's Story Writing Competition this Spring,” said Lewis Carnie, Head of Programming at Radio 2. Carnie also added that the station was “in rude health.” Despite pulling in 14million listeners each week and achieving record audiences across several shows, it lost 4% of its listeners in the second quarter.
Radio 3 has also decreased in listeners, from 2.26million last quarter to 2.17million in the second. Radio 5 Live and its sister station, 5 Live, follows the trend with 6.80million listeners last year to 6.68million listeners this year. The 6 Music Station went from 1.3million listeners to 1.27million, while Classic FM went from 6.09million to 5.7million weekly. TalkSPORT remained stable at 3.2million weekly.
Magic 105.4 is the most listened to station in London, with 2.2million listeners. It beats out Heart 106.2, which only has 1.99million, and Capital 95.8, which has 2.07million.
Though figures are decreasing across stations and shows, Rajar's figures did show that radio listening is at a high, with 91.7% of the population tuning in each week. More than 34million people listen to commercial radio in the UK.
Perhaps a lot of this is due to digital radio. 1Xtra, the digital urban music station, has been enjoying almost 1million listeners each week, and Rajar's figures show that digital radio accounts for 26.9% of all listening. Though it may be a while before the country has a complete digital switchover, it seems that it's well on its way.