The provisions of the Westminster Media Act became effective early last month, and across the water the big Radio groups lost no time in moving to network their programmes, limiting local content to news, information and advertising. 
 
Here, fully local remains dominant, attracting 58% of all radio listening hours, according to the latest RAJAR* research which has just been published, covering the last quarter of 2024. 
 
In this the week of its 35th birthday, Cool FM holds the top spot in reach, with 471,000 listeners tuning in each week. The same period last year that figure was 538,000, with total hours now 3,397,000 compared to 4,155,000 and share at 10.8 from 14.3.
 
BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle leads on hours (5,609,000 from 4,927,000) and on share (17.9 from 17.0), but their reach has declined to 454,000 from 506,000 year on year. 
 
Q Radio now has 335,000 listeners (was 351,000), with 2,423,000 hours (were 2,068,000) and a 7.7 share (was 7.1). 
 
At Downtown reach has jumped from 259,000 to 309,000, and hours were up (3,240,000 from 2,259,000) as was share (10.3 from 7.8). Sister station Downtown Country, which will celebrate 10 years on air in April, receives an early birthday present of increased reach of 135,000 (was 105,000), hours at 1,301,000 (were 897,000) and share of 4.1 (was 3.1).
 
U105 was the choice of 204,000 weekly listeners (were 220,000) in its FM broadcast area, with 2,279,000 hours (were 1,866,000) and a 12.1 share (was 10.9), while in the station’s DAB-only zone there were 23,000 listeners (were 31,000) with 112,000 hours (were 211,000) and a 0.9 share (was 1.8).
 
Turning lastly to the hybrid stations, Greatest Hits Radio NI reached 69,000 listeners (compared with 82,000 a year ago) and Hits Radio NI 25,000 listeners.
 
 
Each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.
 
*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI

In the week that the Media Act 2024 became law, allowing UK radio station operators to provide less local programming, the latest RAJAR* figures for the period up to September 15th continue to confirm that listeners here expect and appreciate just the opposite. 
 
Overall, Radio in NI is in a good place, with an increase year-on-year in the total time spent listening to all stations, now at over 31 million hours, of which the local broadcasters achieve almost 18 million, representing a 56% share of hours.
 
Cool FM in attracting 503,000 listeners a week maintains its top spot in reach, but 12 months ago this was 527,000, with hours similarly decreasing to 4,302,000 from 4,590,000, and share to 13.7 from 15.6.
 
This results in BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle moving ahead to lead on hours (5,430,000 from 4,733,000) and on share (17.3 from 16.1), but their audience number is down on a year ago, to 462,000 from 499,000.
 
Q Radio reaches 344,000 listeners (was 362,000), with 1,856,000 hours (were 2,173,000) and a 5.9 share (was 7.4). 
 
At Downtown reach is virtually unchanged (289,000 from 288,000), hours were up (2,670,000 from 2,253,000) as was share (8.5 from 7.6). There was a similar upward trend at Downtown Country with reach at 119,000 (was 91,000), hours at 1,011,000 (were 699,000) and share of 3.2 (was 2.4).
 
In its original FM area U105 attracts 200,000 weekly listeners (were 249,000), 2,288,000 hours (were 2,381,000) and an 11.8 share (was 13.2), while in the station's DAB-only area posting an additional 28,000 listeners (were 31,000) with 147,000 hours (were 180,000) and a 1.2 share (was 1.6).
 
Finally, Greatest Hits Radio NI reached 72,000 listeners (compared with 106,000 as a national service a year ago) and Hits Radio NI debuted with 11,000 listeners.
 
 
Each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.
 
*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI

 
The latest RAJAR* figures, covering the period up to June 23rd, allow the progress of Greatest Hits Radio NI to be assessed, and one suspects it doesn’t fit the intended narrative.
 
When this was purely a national service, 106,000 listeners in Northern Ireland tuned in each week; with the addition of local news, traffic and advertising in subsequent quarters this declined to 82,000 then 70,000, and is now sitting at 56,000.  
 
That contrasts with the strength of stations which are fully local.
 
Cool FM once again leads the way, and now does so by all measures - in reach, hours and share, these being 538,000 (was 490,000 a year ago); 5,134,000 hours (were 3,987,000) and 16.2 (was 14.1).
 
BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle is next with 443,000 (was 439,000); 4,879,000 hours (were 4,590,000) and 15.4 (was 16.2).
 
Q Radio sees increases with 378,000 listeners (were 284,000); 2,425,000 hours (were 1,766,000) and a share of 7.7 (was 6.2).
 
Downtown improved in reach (312,000 from 292,000), hours (3,250,000 from 2,426,000) and share (10.3 from 8.6). Its Country sibling however headed in the opposite direction with 124,000 listeners (were 153,000), 957,000 hours (were 1,095,000) and a share of 3.0 (was 3.9).
 
U105 attracted 189,000 listeners in its original FM area (were 227,000), 1,919,000 hours (were 1,937,000) and a 9.6 share (was 11.4). In the DAB-only zone there were 30,000 listeners (previously 32,000), 118,000 hours (were 194,000) and a 1.0 share (was 1.7).
 
The preceding services taken together account for 59% of all radio listening hours, which is two percentage points higher than at the same time last year; and interestingly Ofcom’s just published Media Nations report notes that this figure is almost twice the UK average for local radio, confirming that here we like a lot of Local!

 
Each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.
*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI

Following the autumn arrival of Greatest Hits Radio NI, Bauer has last month launched an NI version of Hits Radio. These two new hybrid offerings will take some time to be reflected in RAJAR*, so for now the latest figures just released relate to fully local services.

Lead position is held by Cool FM, with 527,000 listeners tuned in for 4,429,000 hours giving a share of 14.6. This time last year there were 489,000 listeners, 3,446,000 hours and a 12.3 share.

BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle follows with an audience of 462,000 (up by 6,000), 4,923,000 hours (were 5,079,000), and a 16.2 share (was 18.1).

Q Radio comes next, with 370,000 listeners (up from 216,000), 2,484,000 hours (were 1,220,000), and an 8.2 share (was 4.3).

Downtown saw an increase of 9,000 listeners to 298,000, with hours moving likewise from 2,470,000 to 3,076,000, and share from 8.8 to 10.2.

The station’s Country sibling registered a fall from 193,000 to 122,000 listeners, 1,289,000 to 1,074,000 hours and a 4.6 to 3.5 share.

U105 lost 31,000 listeners in Greater Belfast (now 190,000) but increased overall hours from 1,520,000 to 1,786,000 and share from 9.1 to 9.9. In its newer DAB area, the audience increased by 4,000 to 32,000, while hours dipped from 156,000 to 155,000 with share remaining at 1.3.

Lastly, looking at the combined performance of the aforementioned stations, they attract 59% of all listening hours.

As ever, each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.

*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI

The latest RAJAR* figures released today are for the period ending December 17, which was just days after all Medium Wave/AM transmissions for local radio here ceased, with the switching off of Downtown’s 1026 kHz (formerly ‘293’) signal from Knockbreckan, near Carryduff.  BBC Radio Ulster and Foyle closed theirs back in May, 2021.

Two NI services achieve beyond the half million mark; Cool FM improves in its position as leader in reach with 538,000 listeners each week tuning in for a total of 4,155,000 hours, to give a share of 14.3. This time last year there were 470,000 listeners, 3,017,000 hours and an 11.0 share.

Next comes BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle with 506,000, which is an increase of 31,000 on the year. Their hours and share lead the local listening league - 4,927,000 (were 5,269,000) and 17.0 (was 19.3).
 
Q Radio moves up the ranking, with 351,000 listeners (was 226,000), hours of 2,068,000 (were 1,523,000) and a 7.1 share (was 5.6).
 
Downtown saw slippage in reach to 259,000 (from 305,000) along with hours and share (2,259,000 from 2,379,000 and 7.8 from 8.7).
 
U105 adds audience year-on-year with a 220,000 reach in the original Greater Belfast coverage area (was 202,000), with 1,866,000 hours (were 1,679,000) and share of 10.9 (was 10.7). In the station’s DAB-only area outside Belfast, a further 31,000 listeners (up 2,000) tuned in for 211,000 hours (were 169,000) with a 1.8 share (was 1.5).
 
Downtown Country rounds off our summary, with a reach of 105,000 (was 114,000), hours of 897,000 (were 995,000) and share of 3.1 (was 3.6).
 
So, are the stations named above holding the attention of local audiences? Comparing their combined total listening hours with 12 months ago reveals an increase of 9%, and this now represents 57% of all radio listening hours. 
 
 
*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI
Note: each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.

Last month, a new approach to Radio appeared - Greatest Hits Radio NI, a DAB offering from Bauer which blends local content such as news, weather, traffic and of course advertising, into what is otherwise a national service, with known ‘names’ such as Simon Mayo and Ken Bruce. 
This hybrid model has been in play for some time across the water, but at the expense of paring back truly local services. Here, at least, it is an addition. While RAJAR* research will take time to reflect the performance of the NI version, the baseline before its introduction will be 106,000 listeners according to the latest release.

Among the fully fledged local stations, Cool FM has consolidated its position as leader in reach with 527,000 weekly listeners tuning in for a total of 4,590,000 hours, giving a share of 15.6. At the same time last year, there were 434,000 listeners, 2,946,000 hours and an 11.2 share.
 
BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle achieved a reach increase of 30,000 year on year, this now being 499,000. Their hours and share ranked best locally – 4,733,000 (were 4,688,000) and 16.1 (was 17.8).
 
Q Radio enjoyed a substantial upswing in reach, to 362,000 from 241,000, with a more modest improvement in hours (2,173,000 from 1,738,000) and share (7.4 from 6.6).
 
Downtown posted a reach of 288,000 (was 302,000) with hours and share declining (2,253,000 from 2,577,000 and 7.6 from 9.8).
 
U105 features next in the league table, with a 249,000 reach in its original Greater Belfast coverage area (was 186,000) along with 2,381,000 hours (were 1,923,000) and share of 13.2 (was 12.7). Outside Belfast, a further 31,000 listeners (were 27,000) devoting 180,000 hours to the station (were 153,000) with a 1.6 share (was 1.3).
 
Downtown Country completes the picture with 91,000 listeners, 699,000 hours, and a 2.4 share; these were previously 106,000 listeners, 780,000 hours and a 3.0 share.
 
As followers of this blog will know, I like to place local listening in the context of all radio consumption, and the combined figure for the stations listed above is now 58%, an annual rise of two percentage points.
 
 
*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI
Note: each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.

Exactly ten years ago, my first regular blog on the fortunes of NI stations as determined by RAJAR* was published.

It seems quite a time ago – the Olympics had recently been held in London; the word ‘Brexit’ had just been coined with the referendum due in a few years; a worldwide pandemic was the stuff of movie stories (the film ‘Contagion’ was released in 2011); and in Radio locally, Downtown Country was a programme on the station, not a full-time separate service, and Citybeat was then broadcasting as a stand-alone owned by Carlisle’s CN Group. U105 was operating out of parent company UTV’s HQ at Havelock House, and had yet to go on DAB provincewide, with SDL Digital set to launch to add a choice of a further 22 stations. Technologically, smart speakers were still years away.

So how do things compare today?

Regular readers will recall that I like to give the share of total listening hours achieved by all the local stations surveyed in RAJAR combined, as this indicates their strength in relation to Radio as a whole.

Back in 2013, this figure was 55% - in the latest research it is 57%, which will be a satisfying result for all those of us wishing to see a healthy local radio sector.
 
Lead station in the newly released figures is Cool FM, enjoying a weekly reach of 490,000 with 3,987,000 hours and a 14.1 share (was 428,000, with 3,183,000 hours and a 12.0 share at the same time last year). In 2013, Cool had a reach of 417,000, hours of 3,238,000 and an 18.6 share.
 
Stablemate Downtown has dipped by 1,000 to 292,000 in reach, and from 2,608,000 hours to 2,426,000, with a share of 8.6 (from 9.9).  In 2013, Downtown attracted 268,000 adults each week, listening for 1,868,000 hours giving a share of 7.2. Downtown Country saw a jump in reach from 100,000 to 153,000, hours go from 563,000 to 1,095,000, and share increase from 2.1 to 3.9.
 
Q Radio increased reach from 194,000 to 284,000, with hours up from 1,324,000 to 1,766,000 and share from 5.0 to 6.2.  Ten years ago, Citybeat and Q Radio were under separate ownership, but had respectively 154,000 and 107,000 listeners, 1,120,000 and 748,000 hours, and shares of 11.2 and 6.9.
 
U105 also posted increases in reach and hours, in the Greater Belfast area from 188,000 to 228,000, with hours of 1,937,000 (were 1,845,000) and a share of 11.4 (was 11.5).  In its DAB-only area, the station had a reach of 32,000 (was 28,000), hours of 194,000 (were 156,000) and a share of 1.7 (was 1.4). A decade back, U105 had 196,000 listeners, 1,776,000 hours and an 11.4 share.
 
BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle decreased in reach year-on-year, from 504,000 to 439,000, with hours dropping from 5,016,000 to 4,590,000 and share likewise from 19.0 to 16.2. In 2013, the reach was 543,000 with 5,889,000 hours and a 22.2 share, which meant that these BBC services then accounted for 40% of total local radio listening hours. As of now this figure sits at 29%, which we can only conclude is a disappointing direction of travel from Ormeau Avenue.
 
 
*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI
Note: each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.

As voters in Northern Ireland make their way to the polling stations today for the Local Council Elections, RAJAR* has published the most recent radio listening figures.
 
Downtown Country is the clear star of this release, year-on-year almost doubling its reach (those who tune in each week) and hours, from 105,000 to 193,000 adults and 687,000 to 1,289,000 respectively with its share of all radio listening upping from 2.5 to 4.6. Stablemates Downtown Radio increased reach from 285,000 to 289,000, but hours fell to 2,470,000 from 2,759,000 (share now 8.8 from 10.1); and Cool FM hit the upward trend with 489,000 from 440,000 in reach and 3,446,000 from 3,104,000 in hours (share 12.3 from 11.4).
 
Elsewhere in the Commercial sector, U105 increased its reach from 198,000 to 221,000 in Greater Belfast with hours down from 1,955,000 to 1,520,000 (share 5.4 from 7.2).  In their DAB-only area, a 28,000 reach (was 29,000) and 156,000 hours (was 176,000); and share there went from 1.5 to 1.3.
 
Q Radio had similar mixed fortunes, with reach at 216,000 (was 228,000) and hours up from 1,151,000 to 1,220,000 (share 4.3 from 4.2).
 
BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle saw significant falls by all three measures compared with the same time last year; a new reach of 456,000 from 527,000, of particular note as this cedes the leader in reach position to Cool FM, with hours being 5,079,000 from 5,780,000, and share 18.1 from 21.2.
 
The combined performance of the aforementioned stations allows their percentage figure of all radio listening hours to be calculated. This now stands at 54%, a drop of 3 percentage points on a year ago.
 
My next RAJAR blog, due in August, will mark exactly ten years since the very first one, and comparisons across the decade should be illuminating.  During that time I also provided links to a blog published by Paul Easton, who in turn graciously directed his readers to mine.  It was a shock to learn that Paul passed away suddenly earlier this year.  He was one of the early pioneers in Independent Local Radio, working behind the scenes in the major London stations and subsequently as a programming consultant. We met and chatted often at Radio events where his extensive knowledge and dedication to the medium shone through. A good guy who will be greatly missed.
 

*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI
Note: each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.

The latest RAJAR* figures relate to the period from last September to just before Christmas, and show that local broadcasters attract 55% of all radio listening hours, a two percentage point decrease on the same time last year. Within the sector there are ups and downs as audiences choose between stations, whether that’s by hitting a button on the car radio or asking Alexa to ‘play’ something else.
 
The Newtownards-based services from Bauer all saw increases in reach - the number of people tuning in each week - but only Downtown Country added listening hours to just shy of 1 million. The actual numbers are, for Downtown, a reach of 305,000 (up from 280,000) and 2,379,000 hours (were 2,391,000) giving a share of 8.7% (was 8.6); for Cool FM a 470,000 reach up from 446,000  and  3,017,000 hours (were 3,185,000) with share down from 11.5% to 11.0%; and for Downtown Country a 114,000 reach (up from 109,000) and 995,000 hours (were 974,000) and share up to 3.6% from 3.5%.
 
U105 also enjoyed a boost in reach, rising from 185,000 to 202,000 within the original Greater Belfast coverage, with 1,946,000 hours (were 1,679,000) and share of 6.1% (was 7.0). In its DAB-only area, reach was also up, from 23,000 to 29,000, with hours and share static at 166,000 and 1.5% respectively.
 
Q Radio declined in reach from 253,000 to 226,000; however hours and share went up, from 1,426,000 to 1,523,000, and 5.1% to 5.6%.

BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle now attract 475,000 listeners each week, down from 514,000. Total hours were 5,269,000 from 5,785,000, and the share currently sits at 19.3% (from 20.9).

Recently I was sorting through old radio memorabilia, and found an item from exactly 45 years ago this month. The then Downtown chairman in a statement to shareholders proudly announced that according to the latest JICRAR (the forerunner to RAJAR) the station - which was the only independent service in Northern Ireland in those days - was achieving 10 million listening hours each week. It was a very different time and media landscape of course, but today the commercial sector has a total of just under 10 million listening hours (9,759,000) though these are shared among 5 services. An interesting ‘then and now’ I thought!


*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI
Note: each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.

In the month that the BBC celebrates 100 years since its establishment as a ‘company’ (Happy Birthday Auntie!), we can once again compare RAJAR* figures with the same period last year, when their publication resumed after a hiatus due to Covid.

The only NI station to increase its reach over that time was Downtown, now with 302,000 weekly listeners (from 281,000) and 2,577,000 hours (from 2,012,000). Its share of listening is 9.8% (was 7.3). Sister station Downtown Country saw a decrease, 106,000 listeners from 114,000 and 780,000 hours from 948,000, with share at 3% (was 3.4); as did Cool FM, with 434,000 listeners (was 492,000) and 2,946,000 hours (was 3,575,000) and a share of 11.2% (was 12.9).

Elsewhere in the local commercial sector, Q Radio attracted 241,000 listeners (was 292,000) with 1,738,000 hours (was 2,108,000) and a share of 6.6% (was 7.6); and U105 in its original FM area now has 186,000 from 196,000, with hours at 1,923,000 from 1,956,000 and share at 12.7 (was 11.6). In the newer DAB-only coverage, reach was steady at 27,000 with hours from 185,000 to 153,000 and share being 1.3 from 1.8.

BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle now has a weekly reach of 469,000 listeners, down from 517,000. Total hours were 4,688,000 from 5,500,000, and the share currently sits at 17.8% (from 19.9).

That downward trend from most stations is reflected in the share of all radio listening enjoyed by the aforementioned services, which now stands at 56%, having been 58% at this time a year ago.



*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI
Note: each station is quoted within its own Total Survey Area.