RAJAR Results Q2 2004: Vaughan Fails To Boost Capital

The latest RAJAR listening figures reveal a lacklustre performance for Capital Radio, which saw its weekly reach decline by almost 20% year on year in the second quarter as Johnny Vaughan took over as host of the station’s flagship breakfast show.

The news will come as a blow to Capital, which has invested in a heavyweight television advertising campaign to promote the start of the new breakfast show. Vaughan took over from veteran DJ Chris Tarrant in the crucial early morning slot on 19 April in a move that signalled the most radical change at the station in almost 20 years (see Capital Pushes Vaughan With TV Ad Campaign).

Capital will not place too much emphasis on the initial figures, which also include Tarrant’s last two weeks at the microphone. Vaughan will take time to bed in to the breakfast slot and the real test will come in a few months time when effect of the advertising campaign wears off. Capital is still the most popular radio station in London in terms of weekly reach and share of listening.

Meanwhile, there was good news for Chrysalis-owned Heart 106.2, which saw its weekly reach increase by 4.2% year on year to just over the 1.9 million mark. The station now has just 180,000 fewer listeners than Capital and has been working hard to close the gap with an extensive television campaign promoting its Jono and Harriet breakfast show.

Emap’s Magic continued to cast its spell over the capital in the three months to June, with its weekly reach rising by an impressive 13.5% year on year to just over the 1.5 million mark. The station’s dance-focused stablemate, Kiss 100, saw its weekly reach slip by 3% year on year, but a strong quarter on quarter performance helped it to become the top London station for 15 to 34 year-olds.

Capital’s Xfm strengthened its appeal amongst alternative music fans, with the proliferation of guitar-based bands and chart friendly rock helping the station to see its weekly reach rise by a healthy 32% year on year to over the half a million mark. The station is working hard to broaden its fan base and recently began broadcasting on the FM frequency in Manchester in a bid to build support for a licence application in November (see Xfm To Broadcast In Manchester Ahead Of FM Licence Bid).

Elsewhere, Virgin 105.8 FM clawed back some important ground in the capital with its weekly reach rising by a solid 4.6% to 959,000 in the three months to June. The station has also been boosted by news that high-profile breakfast show presenters, Geoff Lloyd and Pete Mitchell, have agreed to stay on for another two years.

Capital saw its share of London listening drop to 6.6% after suffering a marked 2.3% points decline in the three months to June. The station’s fiercest rival, Heart 106.2, also dipped during the same period, but is now virtually neck and neck in the race for the top spot.

There was comfort elsewhere for Capital, with its recently acquired urban soul, dance and reggae station, Choice FM, seeing its share of listening rise by 0.2% points year on year to 2.3%. The station was snapped up by Capital earlier this year for £15 million (see Capital Cleared For £15 Million Choice Acquisition).

News and talk-focused LBC 97.3 inched up by 0.3% points year on year to 3%, but its sister station, LBC News 1152, proved less fortunate with a 0.4% decline during the same period to 0.7%. Both stations recently teamed up with financial newspaper, The Business, to create joint radio and press advertising packages for targeted clients and agencies (see LBC Stations Secure Cross-Media Deal With The Business).

Meanwhile, Jazz FM saw its grip on the up-market 25 to 54 year-old market loosen slightly in the three months to June, with its weekly reach dipping 0.2% points year on year. Music, local news and community radio station Time FM also slipped during the same period, with its share of listening coming to rest at 0.7%.

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