Saturday, May 03, 2008

Digital listening drives BBC Radio to new records

Date: 01.05.2008
Digital listening has helped lift BBC Radio's reach and share to record levels, according to data released today by RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd). The figures – covering the period from 31 December 2007 to 23 March 2008 – show BBC Radio now reaches 34.22 million people every week and comprises a 56.8% share of all listening hours. They also reveal that listeners are increasingly tuning into BBC radio stations digitally. More than 10 million people listen to BBC radio via digital platforms every week – 6.4 million on DAB – consuming 100 million hours of BBC radio through DAB sets, digital TV and the internet, the vast majority via DAB (71 million hours).
At the same time, the BBC's digital-only services continue to grow: the portfolio reaches 2.92 million people per week; every station now has more than half a million listeners; and BBC 6 Music, 1Xtra and the BBC Asian Network all posted record figures.Jenny Abramsky, Director, BBC Audio & Music, said: "This is a remarkable performance for DAB, which is so important for the whole industry. I am extremely pleased to see all our digital-only services are doing so well."
BBC Radio 1 attracted more than 11 million listeners per week in a quarter rich in specialist music – from guest presenters on Zane Lowe to the dance music event Bloc Weekender. The quarter also featured the Body Image social action campaign. The network added more than half a million listeners on the year and now has a reach of 11.07m million. It has a share of 10.6% – up from 10.1% last year and 10.3% last quarter.
The Chris Moyles Show has a record reach of 7.72 million listeners – up from 7.06m last year and 7.31m last quarter. BBC Radio 2 has a record 13.63 million listeners and remains the country's most popular station, offering a strong daytime line-up complemented by a broad range of specialist and live music programming. Its reach is up 380,000 on the year (13.25m) and more than 800,000 on last quarter (12.82m). The network also posted record share of 16.5%– up from 15.8% last year and 15.7% last quarter. Wake Up To Wogan has a record 8.10 million listeners tuning in each week – up on last quarter's 7.73m and last year's 7.88m.  BBC Radio 3's reach is 1.80 million (1.90m last year and 1.95m last quarter) and share is 0.9%, from 1.2% last quarter and year. The quarter featured celebrations of composers Judith Weir, John Tavener and Henri Dutilleux.
BBC Radio 4 has 9.56 million listeners – up on the quarter (9.29m) and slightly down on the year (9.64m) – and share is 12.2%, the same as last year but up on the previous quarter (11.8%). The period included The City Speaks – the first multiplatform radio drama available on radio, the internet and via the red button.
BBC Radio 5 Live and its digital service BBC 5 Live Sports Extra recorded a combined reach of 6.09 million – up a little on last year's combined total (5.97m) and down slightly on last quarter (6.17m).  The network – recently nominated for nine Sony Radio Academy awards – was buoyed by 5 Live Sports Extra's contribution of 648,000 listeners to the total.  BBC 6 Music posted its third consecutive record reach. It attracted 520,000 listeners – up on both year and quarter – in a period that included the first full quarters for George Lamb and Adam & Joe.  1Xtra also has a record number of listeners, with 595,000 people tuning in each week – up from 465,00 last year – in a quarter that saw the first 1Xtra Live event in Coventry.  The BBC Asian Network is the third digital-only network with a record quarter. It has 535,000 listeners – up on both year and quarter.
BBC 7 also had a strong quarter, with 813,000 people tuning in each week (up from 808,000 last year) and share of listening up to 0.5%.  The BBC World Service has 1.35 million listeners – from 1.18m last quarter and 1.39m last year. Share is 0.6% (same last quarter, 0.7% last year).  BBC Local and National Radio has a reach of 10.29 million (9.82m last quarter and 10.30m last year) and share of 9.9% (10.0% last quarter and 10.6% last year).
(BBC Radio Publicity)

1 comment:

  1. You are very up to date. aren't you? Maybe you like this radio serial too even though it's not on radio but on this blog.

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