Bauer Media has unveiled its BEST-EVER listening figures according to the Q2 2009 RAJARs released today, with 12.7m listeners now tuning into a Bauer Radio station. The Bauer Radio Network consists of 43 national, local and digital stations across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and delivered an increased commercial share of 25%.
- Magic 105.4 retains market leadership in London for a tenth consecutive quarter with a record reach of 2.054m listeners - the only commercial station to exceed the 2m listener barrier.
- Over 852k Londoners tune into Sony Gold Winner Neil Fox's 'More Music' Breakfast show.
- Kiss 100 boasts its biggest ever figures for reach, audience and hours, including the highest-ever audience figures to date for Rickie & Melvin at Breakfast - up 34% on the year.
- Best Big City Network market share for over 2 years - with stand out performances from Clyde 1, Metro, Forth 1, 97.4 Rock FM and Cool 97.4 FM.
- heat Radio and Smash Hits deliver record q on q figures, with heat rocketing 70% to deliver 2.1m hours and 35% to reach over 572k celebrity obsessed listeners.
Every week Bauer Media produces 111m hours of excellent programming and gained 217k listeners - up 3.4% on the year, underpinning Bauer Radio Network's market-leading position in 22 out of 25 of the areas it serves.
In London, Magic 105.4 continues to dominate the City's airwaves in terms of hours - up 17.2% to 14.02m -and number of listeners - up 0.1% to 2.054m, both on the quarter.
Kiss 100 also delivered its highest-ever figures on all three measures. Kiss 100 was up 26.2% in reach to 1.784 listeners and 20.2% to 10.84m hours on the year. It now boasts a record 5% market share, just 0.1% behind its nearest commercial rival, and up 11.1% on the year. The Total Kiss Network recorded its highest-ever figures based on reach (3.582m), hours (19.07m) and share (2%), with Kiss 101 regaining market leadership on reach in its Bristol, South Wales and South West TSA.
Magic 105.4 and Kiss 100 together now reach 3.34m loyal listeners, up 3.4% on the quarter, giving Bauer Media an 11.5% share of the whole London market.
The combined Magic Network enjoyed its highest-ever numbers on all measures with 3.640m listeners, 25.93m hours and a 2.5% share.
The Big City Network, our portfolio of local stations across the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, is market-leader by reach or share in 18 of the 20 communities it serves. BCN reaches 4.58m listeners and continues to deliver great local content, central to our strategy to retain the number one commercial position in every market we operate.
There were strong performances amongst the nine Big City England stations - Radio City, Key 103, Metro Radio, Radio Aire, CFM, 96.9 Viking, Hallam, 97.4 Rock FM and TFM - with outstanding numbers for Metro Radio in Newcastle, which delivered significant wins on all measures in its market, and gains at Rock FM with more listeners than any other station in its TSA (286,000)
In Scotland, all nine FM stations- Clyde 1, Northsound 1, West Sound (inc West FM and Southwest Sound), Tay FM, Radio Borders, MFR and Forth 1 - lead the market, with Forth 1 achieving the coveted top spot in Edinburgh by both reach and share. Across Scotland, these stations deliver a combined reach of 1.765m dedicated listeners, 20.82m hours and a 25% share of the market - up both on the quarter and the year.
Our performance in Northern Ireland also stands strong – the combined weekly reach of both Cool FM and Downtown is up over the previous quarter by 35,000 listeners, and back over the half million mark with a weekly reach at 530,000.
Elsewhere across the Bauer Radio Network, Birmingham-based Kerrang! Radio - and Sony Station of the Year – delivered solid reach, whilst Wave 105 continued to outperform its rivals on the South Coast.
As well as delivering the best radio content to local audiences, Bauer Media continues to lead the way in digital with heat Radio, Q Radio, The Hits and Smash Hits all in the Top Ten. heat Radio and Smash Hits boasted their highest ever numbers and huge double digit increases in reach and hours on the quarter and the year, with Smash Hits second only to its stablemate The Hits in the digital Radio market.
Dee Ford, Group MD of Radio, Bauer Media commented:
"This is a great book, delivering the best listening results ever for the Bauer Radio Network of local, national and digital stations.
"Wherever you look across the portfolio there are successes. Congratulations to the team at Kiss 100, posting its best results ever by all measures and Magic 105.4, taking the coveted commercial crown in London for the 10th consecutive quarter. Around the country, 4.6 million people listen to their favourite station in our Big City portfolio, which has posted its highest market share for more than two years. Kiss 101 retook the top spot by reach in Bristol, and Forth 1 has both held the top spot by reach and added number one position by market share too. I’d like to say well done to the digital radio teams at heat and Smash Hits, both of whom posted really impressive gains in both reach and in hours.
"In our fast moving media landscape, commercial radio continues to grow and delivers some of the biggest, media audiences in the country. At Bauer Media, we are passionate about delivering an engaging, entertaining and stable radio platform for our Clients, keeping them in touch with more than 12.7m UK consumers every week.”
Source: RAJAR / Ipsos-MORI / RSMB, period ending June 2009, all stations and groups results are reported on their specified reporting period and TSA.
RAJAR data Q2 2009 - download in PDF
Ends
For radio advertising opportunities across Bauer Media's portfolio of UK radio stations please visit www.bauermedia.co.uk/radio
Further information:
Sarah Ewing at Bauer Media, sarah.ewing@bauermedia.co.uk, or Veryan and Jerina at Braben on 0207 566 2990 or firstname@braben.co.uk
