RAJAR Results Q1 2005: BBC Rises As Commercial Rivals Falter

Commercial radio slipped further away from the BBC at the beginning of 2005, with the Corporation outperforming its rivals in terms of share of listening, weekly reach and average hours per listener. Commercial radio now accounts for 43.8% of all listening, while the BBC represents 54.2%.

Share Of Listening

The nation’s commercial radio stations saw a relatively lacklustre start to the year, with All Commercial stations suffering a 3.74% point downturn in share of listening year on year. And while quarter on quarter analysis reveals a marginal dip of 0.4% points, the decline is compounded by a dip of 5.62% points year on year and 0.6% points quarter on quarter for All Local Commercial stations.

The BBC fared better than its commercial rivals in the three months to March, with All BBC stations adding 3.04% points year on year to give a 54.2% share of listening, while All BBC Network stations saw continued growth in the same period to add 4.58% points year on year, rising to a total share of 43.4%.

The Corporation’s local stations were less fortunate, however, aping their commercial counterparts in failing to add to their share of listening. BBC Local Radio remained steady with a share of 10.6%, while BBC Local/Regional stations shed 2.7% points to a total of 10.8%.

Weekly Reach

The Corporation’s increased audience comes at a cost to its commercial rivals, with All Commercial stations experiencing a dip year on year of 2.09%, while Local Commercial listening was even harder hit, shedding 3.29% in the same period.

The BBC added 0.5% year on year across all of its output, meanwhile, pushing its total audience to just over 32.5 million. The Corporation’s Network stations also saw a year on year rise in audiences, adding 1.33% to a total of 28.6 million.

Not all of the BBC’s radio operations saw positive growth, however, with BBC Local Radio losing 3.49% of its weekly reach year on year, and although the downturn was less significant in quarter on quarter analysis, BBC Local/Regional stations also suffered a decline of 4.29% on the same quarter last year.

Average Hours Per Listener

All Commercial radio was again looking glum in terms of average hours per listener, shedding 3.85% to an average of 15 hours. All BBC saw a mixed performance, meanwhile, losing 0.56% year on year, but adding 0.57% quarter on quarter.

Meanwhile, All Local Commercial radio suffered a 4.76% dip year on year, continuing its long running decline, but managed to maintain a higher average than its BBC competitors at 14 hours per listener.

The BBC’s local operations were more fortunate in terms of average hours per listener, with BBC Local Radio the only broadcaster to produce single figure percentage growth year on year, up 1.75% to 11.6 hours.

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