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.
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.
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