Latest RAJARs

[johnb]

* In context, this is a short-term year-to-year measure, i.e. the reach does not hit the heights of 1998 or 2003, but at least is far better than the nadir of 2007. The reach increase is probably not much compared to the total population though, as will probably be seen when johnb updates his marvellous spreadsheet graph.

Your word is my command:



As can be seen from the chart, one can't read too much into one quarter's figures but things appear to be falling back somewhat from the peak in the year to June 2011. It might be too early for the recent changes to R3 schedules to influence the figures. (?)

[amateur51]

Fascinating stuff, Russ & john b - many thanks

I'm sure that french frank is putting together a detailed analysis and pithy questions for the Controller as I trype

[french frank]

Agree with what johnb has said. I have put together an unusually long and boring piece for the website which will go up there tonight. Having been censured once or twice on the old BBC boards for the boring, plodding nature of my inevitable contributions I hesitate to burden the community here!

Add: One point I made is illustrated very clearly on johnb's graph. Next quarter, the reach will be compared year-on-year with the very peak of last year's surge, so a big 'drop' is predictable. Nothing to be made about it - ignore media reports of Radio 3's disastrous fall!

[Panjandrum]

as I trype

Freudian slip?

[french frank]

Freudian slip?

This is the man who regularly corrects his 'trypos', so possibly not a slip, as such

[cloughie]

By the way, I've just seen that S Heffer is leaving the Telegraph to pursue journalism [sic] and broadcasting. He's done one series for R3 (in The Essay), likes classical music and is usually fulsome in his praise of the station. Place your bets - will he become a regular presenter?

[Edit: Roger suggests Mozartmania might perhaps have been one reason for the increase last quarter ]

Perhaps he'd like the breakast slot Mon-Fri!

[Russ]

Next quarter, the reach will be compared year-on-year with the very peak of last year's surge, so a big 'drop' is predictable. Nothing to be made about it - ignore media reports of Radio 3's disastrous fall!

And a drop is exactly what has happened in the 2012 Q1 figures, but perhaps the results are a little more disappointing than expected. R3's audience has dropped below 2m for the first time in a couple of years, and its Q1 reach of 1902k is 10% down on the previous quarter. At 11909k, hours are also down by a big 15.5% compared to the previous quarter.

In the bigger radio context, most of the 2012 Q1 RAJAR results for the network stations were fairly static, with gains and losses being slight, so the R3 results must I think be seen as something of a disappointment.

Russ

P.S. Have posted these 2012 results in the 2011 RAJARs thread for continuity (as befits the subject), so maybe the thread title should simply be 'R3 RAJARs', ff?

[Russ]

The Guardian's John Plunkett has singled out R3's figures for sharp scrutiny in his quarterly summary. The quoted response from the 'BBC spokeswoman' is a marvel of mathematical slight-of-hand, and shows how a positive spin can be made from an awful set of figures. Incidentally, the R3 BBC spokeswoman managed to get her quoted figures wrong, assuming the Grauniad hasn't done a typo.

Russ

[Lateralthinking1]

The Guardian's John Plunkett has singled out R3's figures for sharp scrutiny in his quarterly summary. The quoted response from the 'BBC spokeswoman' is a marvel of mathematical slight-of-hand, and shows how a positive spin can be made from an awful set of figures. Incidentally, the R3 BBC spokeswoman managed to get her quoted figures wrong, assuming the Grauniad hasn't done a typo.Russ

Today's challenging Oxford entrance exam question - When the execs don't listen, audiences don't (a) switch off or (b) listen?

Sad results for the BBC in general, some undeserved. The good news for Radio 3 is that its raison d'etre will become clear as soon as Moylesie, Fatboy Zoe and Sara Ladette hit the daily airwaves on 2 Millionaire and Radio 4 turns fully into Radio 1 circa 1987.

[Panjandrum]

You've got to admire their Chutzpah:a BBC spokeswoman said: "BBC Radio 3's audience traditionally fluctuates around the 2m mark – this is only the second quarter of a new schedule and audience reach figures are only one measure of our success – we're proud that we bring so many people to our distinctive blend of high-quality classical and cultural content with listeners listening for longer year on year up from 6.06 to 6.16 hours per listener a week." So that'll be an additional 6 minutes listening per week, right?

Moreover, they've done a complete volte face from stating that their schedule changes were in response to listener demand, now we're told that "audience reach" is just one measure of their success (sic). Yeah, right

[french frank]

The BBC news website makes particular mention of R3's anomalous result, but then moves swiftly on. No mention of controversial schedule changes. No ask, no need for comment Evans-Moyles-Bruce-6 Music record high blah blah ...

That said, media perspective is always questionable, to understate the case. Radio 3 achieved an inexplicably high reach in the Jan-March quarter last year which is entirely responsible for the size of the year-on-year fall (15.8%). Nevertheless, there is a 9% fall on last quarter's reach too which had not been spectacular.

Listening hours, year-on-year, are down 13.6%. Breakfast which last quarter was hailing a leap in reach for its 'refreshed' style over the previous quarter has slumped 17.6% year-on-year.

Calculations have been done swiftly so please indicate any mistakes.

[Norfolk Born]

While I'm not wholly responsible for any drop in R3 listening figures, I feel I should hold up my metaphorical hands and have part of the blame placed on my metaphorical shoulders, as I listen to the station less and less frequently, and for shorter and shorter periods, than ever.
I recognize that, in itself, this matters no more than a Casablancan hill of beans, but, if others have a similar story to tell, perhaps some middle- to high-level apparatchik might spend a couple of moments wondering why some of us have fallen out of love with the station.

[VodkaDilc]

While I'm not wholly responsible for any drop in R3 listening figures, I feel I should hold up my metaphorical hands and have part of the blame placed on my metaphorical shoulders, as I listen to the station less and less frequently, and for shorter and shorter periods, than ever.
I recognize that, in itself, this matters no more than a Casablancan hill of beans, but, if others have a similar story to tell, perhaps some middle- to high-level apparatchik might spend a couple of moments wondering why some of us have fallen out of love with the station.

Ditto in the VodkaDilc household.

[french frank]

Putting an historical perspective on this, there was a disastrous slump following the introduction of Breakfast in 2007. We may remember the barrage of rude things that were posted on the old messageboards at the time. Yet compared with today's version - pre-phone-ins, pre-tweets and texts, pre-chat themes, pre-news snippets every 15 minutes, pre-Charts Show and even before single movements had gained a hold - it's hard to think what the problem was: halcyon days ...

[nephew]

While I'm not wholly responsible for any drop in R3 listening figures, I feel I should hold up my metaphorical hands and have part of the blame placed on my metaphorical shoulders, as I listen to the station less and less frequently, and for shorter and shorter periods, than ever.
I recognize that, in itself, this matters no more than a Casablancan hill of beans, but, if others have a similar story to tell, perhaps some middle- to high-level apparatchik might spend a couple of moments wondering why some of us have fallen out of love with the station.

So often turn to Radio 3, and am driven by EXASPERATION, for one reason or another to switch off.