As 2015 heralded several station launches and rebrands in Northern Ireland, it is now after a year that the effects are showing through in the latest RAJAR* audience figures just released.

Downtown Country offered a clear new listening choice, and sees its audience grow to 100,000 this time. That takes the performance of the entire Downtown/Cool FM Newtownards-based operation up to 632,000 listeners, with hours up 18% year on year. Downtown itself dropped 49,000 over that period to 248,000, while Cool FM increased by 33,000 to 387,000.

At the Q Network, the 6 original stations outside Belfast lost 32,000 listeners (now 122,000), while Citybeat, which was rebranded as Q last summer, was down by 12,000 across the year to 121,000. Increased hours on the quarter in all areas will doubtless be some consolation.

U105 and BBC Radio Ulster enjoyed increases in both reach (6,000 to 195,000 and 16,000 to 520,000 listeners respectively), and hours, compared to 12 months ago.

The figures quoted above are for each station in its own Total Survey Area.


*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI.

More RAJAR analysis:

The national picture from Matt Deegan: www.mattdeegan.com
Paul Easton with the London perspective:
www.pauleastonblog.co.uk

That Latin inscription appears in Dallas, Texas of all places, at the legendary jingle company JAM, and translates as 'It takes time to make things'. So too with building radio audiences, and each RAJAR* provides a snapshot of progress for new, rebranded and heritage stations alike in Northern Ireland.

In the wake of last week's White Paper on the future of the BBC, Radio Ulster will be pleased with a year-on-year increase in both reach (up 22,000 to 546,000) and hours listened. Quarterly figures are also up by both measures.

Downtown Country celebrated its first birthday last month, and the total reach of the now 3-station network has increased by 30,000 to 631,000 against the results for Downtown/Cool FM a year ago. Downtown itself is down 56,000 to 243,000 (though up 26,000 on the quarter) and Cool is up 39,000 to 388,000, with each declining in hours, and Downtown Country has an impressive 84,000 listeners after 12 months.

Q Radio in Belfast saw a drop in both reach (145,000 to 127,000) and hours compared to its previous performance as Citybeat, and the original 6-station Q Network dipped 8,000 to 121,000 though hours were up slightly.

U105, now part of The Wireless Group and not UTV, was up on the year on reach (180,000 to 229,000) and in total hours, but down in both over the last 3 months.

The next RAJAR arrives in August, and this won't, I promise, be a Latin Quarter...


*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI. The figures for each station relate to its own Total Survey Area.


More RAJAR analysis:

The national picture from Matt Deegan: www.mattdeegan.com
Paul Easton with the London perspective:
​www.pauleastonblog.co.uk

The past, as they say, is a different country, and in 1976 Northern Ireland it was a difficult one to be in.

The Troubles were in full flight, and in recognition of the importance of local news and coverage, and no doubt the impending arrival of competition, BBC Radio Ulster had been launched the previous year.

It was, though, a pretty formal sort of station, having replaced Radio 4 Northern Ireland on the dial.

So, the time was ripe for a truly local service, one that would entertain as well as inform in those dark days, and on March the 16th, just ahead of St. Patrick's Day, from the County Down town of Newtownards came Downtown Radio, the 17th ILR station to go on air.

I had joined in December 75 as one of the engineering team, and the following month the journalists and presenters arrived to begin the job of creating a new style of radio.

On the opening day the newsroom was handed a gift from an unlikely quarter - Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigned, and keen as mustard, the Downtown newshounds ran a newsflash, the first station in the UK to do so.

That set the tone for a service that came to be highly regarded in the Province.

The bits in between the news were ground breaking too - the popular music of the day, in glorious FM stereo for the first time in Northern Ireland, presented by personalities who knew the area, its people, and what they wanted to hear about, all done in an informal, accessible way.

They very quickly became household names, and are known to this day - Candy Devine, Big T, Hendi, John Paul...

The regulator back then was the IBA, and in granting a monopoly commercial licence they required a range of programming to be provided, and this Downtown did with enthusiasm, with over 20 weekly specialist speech and music programmes for many years.

The big genre was Country, and its enduring popularity led to the launch of Downtown Country on DAB last year.

But back to 76 - public reaction was immediate, and by the first audience survey, Downtown had 70% of adults listening each week, and became the top ILR station in the UK.

The 80s saw expansion from the Greater Belfast area to Provincewide on FM, and in 1990 came the split and Cool FM. The 90s and first years of the new century heralded more local stations, and Downtown in now providing 3 services holds its own against them.

But after 4 decades the legacy is more than that - all of the broadcasting stations have former Downtown people with them, whether that's the BBC - Radio Ulster has changed greatly to meet the competition over the years, UTV, Citybeat now Q Radio, or U105.

So, Happy Birthday Downtown, and here's to the next 40!

A significant birthday is an apt time for radio stations to take stock of what has been achieved and to consider the direction of travel.

In the latest RAJAR* audience research, U105, which in recent months turned 10, reached its highest weekly audience to date of 237,000 (up 48,000). This nudges the station 3,000 listeners ahead of the previous peak 5 years ago, and comes as the takeover of UTV's television interests by ITV leaves U105 in a new operating environment.

Next month Downtown celebrates 40 years on air; in the late 70s, 7 out of 10 adults in Greater Belfast - around half a million - tuned in each week. Over the years through extending the coverage area provincewide and the launch of additional services, Cool FM in 1990 and Downtown Country last April, the broadcaster today has more audience than in those early days (612,000, up 3,000). Within the 3-station family, Cool FM is up 30,000 to 391,000, Downtown itself decreases by 90,000 to 217,000, and Downtown Country has 89,000.

BBC Radio Ulster had a year of celebration for its 40th in 2015, and the latest weekly figure is 538,000, down 31,000.

From heritage stations to a re-brand; Citybeat became Q Radio last summer, and is up 2,000 to 133,000, while the 6 original Q services are up 5,000 to 126,000.

All comparisons are year on year, and each station's figure relates to its own Total Survey Area.

*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI

For the national picture, go to www.mattdeegan.com
and for London analysis:
www.pauleastonblog.co.uk

November the 14th is a radio 'date' - it marks the day in 1922 when the first of the then British Broadcasting Company's local stations 2LO took to the air in London, but here at home in 2005 it was the launch of U105 at 6am that morning with Van Morrison singing 'Wavelength'.

Having led the application for this Greater Belfast licence, which was won against competition from 10 other contenders, for me it was the culmination of an 18-month period of apprehension, elation and anticipation.

The station was to cater for those aged 45 and over, and to attract an audience that was primarily listening to the BBC.

Being an established and respected broadcaster, UTV had the resources to provide a comprehensive service, along with the means to promote it. With much of the infrastructure already in place, the new radio station could draw on in-house expertise more cost-effectively than a stand alone operator.

As with the birth of any new media outlet, the early days were exciting, and having attracted a talented team of experienced presenters, the station began to forge its identity and was making steady progress by the time I stepped down from my full time role in May 2008.

The stage by stage build of audience was uncannily close to the predictions made in the extensive research conducted for the licence application, but of course any PLC is impatient to drive growth and when one has its own TV airtime this became much used to push the radio programmes and presenters, to the annoyance of rivals without access to this kind of advantage.

Indeed, U105 has arguably had the most TV promotion of any local radio station in the British Isles. The surge of interest as listeners sampled the output - many in fact under 45 - took the audience up to 234,000 in June 2011 before this fell back a year later to 178,000, a level from which U105 has since struggled to get beyond the 200,000 mark.

So what of the on air sound? The early promise of a wide variety of music during the day and a range of programmes in the evenings and at weekends, covering styles such as Country, Rock, Soul, Irish and Nostalgia, has given way to a limited selection of tracks designed, it seems, mostly to please a
40-something listener.

While the mantra of 'less is more' is not one I subscribe to, it does make all the more necessary the arrival of Belfast 89FM to 'super serve' the 55+ age group in terms of both music and speech.

If the most recent years of U105's first decade have been about streamlining and consistency, the next 10 start under the shadow of the sale of UTV to ITV. Gone will be the shared resources, the TV airtime (unless bought at the going rate), and perhaps even the 'U' in the name as the brand will be the property of ITV.

Whatever the future holds, I wish all those involved well, and say Happy Birthday to you, 105!

Local station launches are a bit like buses - none for a time, and then several come along.

In April this year, Downtown Country went on air, followed in June by Belfast 89FM (with which I'm involved, and being a Community licensee it is not a RAJAR* subscriber) and then in August there was the rebranding of Citybeat as part of the Q Network.

The latest audience research findings for Northern Ireland just released give some early inklings of the new radio landscape, with all comparisons year on year.

It's 25 years since Downtown 'split' to create Cool FM, and as then, the game plan will be to increase listenership taken overall. The new figures indicate that this is being achieved; Downtown Country debuts with an audience of 85,000, and the Newtownards-based broadcaster has 10,000 more listeners in total to its portfolio of stations.

Individually, Cool FM posts increases in reach and hours (by 3,000 to 375,000 and 8%), while Downtown in decreasing (29,000 to 240,000 and 25%) is most likely seeing some reassignment through Downtown Country.

U105 received an early 10th birthday present, with reach and hours both up (by 18,000 to 211,000 and 15%), while Citybeat has a decreased reach of 8,000 to 119,000 with hours up by 7%, and the 6 original Q stations were up in reach and hours (36,000 to 150,000 and 11%).

BBC Radio Ulster also enjoyed a healthy boost to its hours (up 11%), but reach dipped by 10,000 to 526,000.

With no more buses for the time being, it's now up to listeners to sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy the ride...

*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI. The figures for each station relate to its own Total Survey Area. 


More RAJAR analysis:

The national picture from Matt Deegan: http://www.mattdeegan.com
Paul Easton with the London perspective: http://www.pauleaston.blogspot.co.uk

When RAJAR* day comes round each quarter, stations hope to see increases in both reach (the number of people tuning in each week) and total listening hours.

In the latest figures just released, comparing the performance of NI stations year-on-year, only the Q Network and U105 achieved this, with respective reaches of 146,000 (up by 49,000) and 189,000 (up by 10,000), and hours increasing by 2% and 19%.

Citybeat boosted hours by 15% while reach dropped by 15,000 to 133,000.

Downtown saw reach increase by 7,000 to 297,000 as hours dropped by 12%, and with sister station Cool FM it was the converse with reach down by 7,000 to 354,000 while hours went up by 10%. The new DAB service, Downtown Country, was only on air for part of the survey period so its figures are not available.

BBC Radio Ulster experienced declines in both reach - down by 7,000 to 504,000, and hours - down by 11%.

However, local broadcasters can take comfort from the fact that despite a decrease of 8% in total radio listening hours in Northern Ireland, national services account for virtually all of this.

Given that it's now exactly 2 years since the arrival of Digital One here with 14 additional DAB stations, this result will be a tad underwhelming.


*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI. The figures for each station relate to its own Total Survey Area. 


More RAJAR analysis:

The national picture from Matt Deegan: http://www.mattdeegan.com
Paul Easton with the London perspective: http://www.pauleaston.blogspot.co.uk

The good people who do the RAJAR* research were plenty busy over the General Election period, and the latest figures come slightly later than usual.

Like an exit poll, they tell us what people have actually voted for with their ears, and this time Downtown/Cool FM achieved a majority year-on-year, with 601,000 listeners tuning in to the Newtownards-based broadcaster each week.

Individually, Downtown increased in both reach (293,000 to 299,000) and hours (up by 25%), while Cool FM dipped in reach (361,000 to 349,000), though this is offset by a similar increase in hours (up 22%).

BBC Radio Ulster was the next most successful, but saw a slight drop in both reach (530,000 to 524,000) and hours (down 8%) across the year.

Citybeat and the Q Network, now jointly owned, will be happy with their increases in reach (Citybeat: 136,000 to 145,000; Q: 91,000 to 125,000) and hours (Citybeat up 33%; Q up 3%).

As in politics, not all parties stand in all constituencies, and U105 covers a smaller than provincewide area on FM. Its reach went from last year's figure of 192,000 to 180,000 now, and hours were down by 12%.

This research period ended before Downtown Country had launched on DAB, so keeping with the electoral analogy, it will be on the ballot paper next time.



*RAJAR is compiled by Ipsos-MORI. The figures for each station relate to its own Total Survey Area.


More RAJAR analysis:


The national picture from Matt Deegan: http://www.mattdeegan.com
Paul Easton with the London perspective: http://www.pauleaston.blogspot.co.uk

Midnight on January 1, 1975 was one of a very few times in the past 40 years that I wasn't behind a microphone bringing in the New Year on local radio.

Instead, I was a keen listener, tuning in for the launch of BBC Radio Ulster on 224 metres medium wave, so today's anniversary is an appropriate time to reflect on its evolution.

The genesis of the station was driven by two factors; the need for more local broadcasting was made very clear during the UWC strike in 1974, and as elsewhere in the BBC, the prospect of imminent commercial competition.

In the early months, Radio Ulster was a mishmash of slightly more home-grown output sandwiched between bits of Radio 4, Radio 2 and even Radio 3.

I recall the 'Belfast Telegraph' carrying a full page (broadsheet, remember) of letters complaining bitterly about this approach, and soon after Radio 4 became the sustaining network again.

In March 1976, Downtown Radio was launched, and while being dismissed sniffily by some in Broadcasting House, the fast and frequent news service, along with a range of programmes and presenters that entertained, informed and involved the listeners throughout the day, made it an immediate success, enjoyed by 70% of the population each week.

Downtown's first Programme Controller, Don Anderson, moved to Radio Ulster in 1977 to lead the station's response and development, and over time the hours devoted to local content were expanded.

The established news and current affairs output, a cornerstone of public service broadcasting, was supplemented with presenter-led music and magazine style programmes with varying degrees of success.

In the last decade, the arrival of Stephen Nolan, who had won 5 Sony Gold Awards for his evening phone-in show on Citybeat, was a smart move by both parties and has given mid morning the edge and profile it has today.

So what of the future? Radio Ulster has almost twice the income of all its local commercial rivals added together, according to the Ofcom Communications Market Report 2014, and costs a quarter of the all-speech Radio 4. With that level of funding, the public is entitled to expect programmes of quality that are distinctive.

Radio Ulster has come a long way in the past 40 years, and as on that first night, I'll be listening as the next year unfolds.