Latest RAJARs

[french frank]

Not quite sure I understand all of that, Lat. This is radio 'while real radio is being broadcast', even if it's listened to on portable devices. RAJAR figures don't include On Demand usage. Yes, commercial stations have outperformed the BBC on reach though not on share (ironically, I think the BBC would prefer to have the reach while the commercials prefer share). Given the amount of choice younger listeners have among the commercial stations, it might be more surprising that the BBC, mainly relying on Radio 1/1Xtra, has kept up for as long as it has.

It's true, though, that overall the BBC audience is roughly 40% 15-44, 60% 45+, compared with the commercials which is roughly the reverse - not surprising since the commercials are mainly pop stations and BBC significantly more speech. As for adverts, my impression is that concentration is not sufficiently focused to register what's being said on these stations; and the younger the listener the less bothered by ads too.

Not sure what you mean about 'that Chris Evans thing'. Not the salaries anyway as they hadn't been published.

[Lat-Literal]

Not quite sure I understand all of that, Lat. This is radio 'while real radio is being broadcast', even if it's listened to on portable devices. RAJAR figures don't include On Demand usage. Yes, commercial stations have outperformed the BBC on reach though not on share (ironically, I think the BBC would prefer to have the reach while the commercials prefer share). Given the amount of choice younger listeners have among the commercial stations, it might be more surprising that the BBC, mainly relying on Radio 1/1Xtra, has kept up for as long as it has.

It's true, though, that overall the BBC audience is roughly 40% 15-44, 60% 45+, compared with the commercials which is roughly the reverse - not surprising since the commercials are mainly pop stations and BBC significantly more speech. As for adverts, my impression is that concentration is not sufficiently focused to register what's being said on these stations; and the younger the listener the less bothered by ads too.

Not sure what you mean about 'that Chris Evans thing'. Not the salaries anyway as they hadn't been published.

Thank you for reading it and replying french frank.

I had read the reports on this quarter in "Radio Today", "Campaign" and "The Drum" plus another one. I forget which one. From "Campaign" to quote one of these - "Digital listening is up, with 61% of the population tuning in each week, and Havas Media publishing manager Rich Hall said that phone listening would prove valuable for the radio sector. "Commercial listeners are adopting mobile phone listening more frequently than the BBC, at a rate of 9.5% of listening versus the BBC’s 6.9%," he explained. "This is a reflection on commercial radio’s younger skewing audience, but also the large variety it offers (sic) and the conscious efforts from sales houses that have gone into accelerating this avenue in recent years.""

My own comments began with a weary sort of slant - the "non-radio" part is an oblique nostalgic reference to content on much of these stations not being as radio content used to be and the it's-radio-but-not-as-we-knew-it thinking was an equally nostalgic regret about the shifts from the old wireless sets to new devices. Not the most serious point I have ever tried to make nor am I against new technology but possibly I am if it accentuates the drift towards formulaic output. On the extra part about young people doing their own broadcasting - and it applies to many of us of whatever age - what I was trying to convey is that if you want an hour of music that really suits then it might just be best to go to You Tube and put together a selection for personal consumption. Make your own "radio station" for you in that sense and on occasion others. I do agree with the points in your post - interesting and well made.

Oh, also, "the Chris Evans thing":

Yes, you are probably right or even definitely right but this has been rumbling in the public consciousness for much longer - see also Top Gear. Plus from memory, the release of the figures was preceded by newspaper speculation that was mostly right. Certainly the main downturn was at the very end of the quarter. I know that. It may just be, he says hopefully, that what is known I think as the zoo style of presentation where you have a main presenter and a lot of party people around him/her clapping and saying "whoah" is after decades beginning to wane. Christian O'Connell is also having a bad time. Not that this is relevant to the current R3 but you never know what is just around the corner or might have been! Preposterous? No. Loosen up the news reader a bit and bring in a separate weather forecaster. There would be two Petroc could talk with on the assumption it pleased an audience!

[antongould]

Have we lost a listener or three ..... ???

[french frank]

Have we lost a listener or three ..... ???

Not far off the same number of listeners as last September (the comparable quarter), I think, so not statistically significant. But less listening.

[Stanfordian]

I'd like to see the relative audience figures for each R3 programme. Ideally in a league table format as there are several programmes in particular that I'd like to see how they stand.

[french frank]

I'd like to see the relative audience figures for each R3 programme. Ideally in a league table format as there are several programmes in particular that I'd like to see how they stand.

These figures are for the quarter July-September, so won't cover recent changes. Breakfast was similarly down very slightly on last year - and that was poor. Classic FM is up on last September, not a best ever, but they can be more pleased than Radio 3, BBC network radio was down very slightly again compared with the commercials.

[Lat-Literal]

Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper defended his ("Grimmy"'s) show, stating it was still “the most relevant youth brand in the UK today”

Bob Shennan, director of BBC Radio and Music, said: "These are great results for BBC 6 Music which is one of the most exciting radio innovations in the last 20 years and is second to none for its brilliant roster of music curators across the schedule.

Helen Thomas, network editor of Radio 2, said: "Congratulations to Ken" (Bruce) - "the ultimate PopMaster!"

W1 and not 'arf!

[french frank]

Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper defended his ("Grimmy"'s) show, stating it was still “the most relevant youth brand in the UK today”

That's usual. The bosses always defend their presenters publicly.

Bob Shennan, director of BBC Radio and Music, said: "These are great results for BBC 6 Music which is one of the most exciting radio innovations in the last 20 years and is second to none for its brilliant roster of music curators across the schedule.

Bob Shennan, the ex-controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music, declined to appoint a controller to replace him when he was promoted to the top radio job. The 'heads' of the two stations still report to him. So the Director of Radio can take some of his praise for himself.

He has no apparent interests beyond popular music (hence he is BBC Director of Music) and football/sport.

[Andrew Slater]

Graph of 'reach' over the past 5 years, as instantaneous quarter (blue) and averaged (to smooth the volatility) over 4 quarters (green) and 20 quarters (red):

[EnemyoftheStoat]

That's usual. The bosses always defend their presenters publicly.

Bob Shennan, the ex-controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music, declined to appoint a controller to replace him when he was promoted to the top radio job. The 'heads' of the two stations still report to him. So the Director of Radio can take some of his praise for himself.

He has no apparent interests beyond popular music (hence he is BBC Director of Music) and football/sport.

Bollocks.

Yes, exactly, yes.

[french frank]

So busy defending the indefensible, pontificating on the value of art and attending hypertension clinic I've had no time to work out the detailed significance of today's RAJAR figures. I can say that I also 'predicted' the unpredictable by deciding that a reach of 2.062m would represent a 'neither good nor bad' achievement and that the actual performance might be measured by how far above or below that figure the result was. In fact it was well below at 1.951m.

What is as yet unclear is which programmes, if any in particular, have slumped. There were post-Proms changes which provoked quite a bit of negative comment, mainly Essential Classics, but there's not yet any data to show whether it lost listeners in any significant quantity. Breakfast was down year on year, though up quarter on quarter which seems to be a general stationwide pattern.

Classic FM seems to have had a decent result, which might be people choosing the real thing rather than the imitation

[Anastasius]

.....
Classic FM seems to have had a decent result, which might be people choosing the real thing rather than the imitation

Spot on, as ever, ff.

[DracoM]

[Lat-Literal]

Just don't understand people's listening preferences now. R1 is up. R2 is up. LBC's up. Moyles on Radio X is up.

I was reminded just last week of the time when a few presenters on R1 sounded more like R3 than today's R3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_XUCAnAq9I

(An early version of Zac Goldsmith at the very least)

[french frank]

I know this is ploddingly, mind-numbingly boring, but here's my analysis.

The BBC's published stats normally correspond to financial years, so Rajar Qs 2, 3, 4 & 1

We’ve just finished calendar year 2017 and can see that there was a big slump compared with 2016. In 2016, the average quarterly reach was 2.104m; in 2017 it was 1.965m which will, when adjusted to the correct (financial) quarters, almost certainly result in one of the lowest yearly averages, no matter what happens next quarter.

It is the third lowest Q4 since comparable records began in 1999 (19 years)

BBC wisdom is that it takes several months for changes, popular or unpopular, to work through into the figures. My theory is that negative reception shows up quicker because people who don’t like what they’re hearing switch off more abruptly than people who will like something (especially if it’s aimed at new listeners) will switch on – given that they won’t get to hear about what they’re not routinely listening to already.

In any case, we have no idea at the moment how September’s changes to Essential Classics, change in Tune presenter and the In Tune Mixtape, for example, have been generally received. The mainly negative forum response may or may not be a general one.

At 5.673m, Classic FM had a decent reach, showing a sustained improvement from when it dipped to 5.121m at the beginning of 2016

The Breakfast figure – the only programme reach published – was reasonable, up QoQ (but last quarter was poor at 566k) but down YoY. It has to be remembered that the number of listeners identified in the sample amount to very few, so volatility is likely to occur without there being any long-term statistical significance. No change to that here: at 607k it was less than Q2 (651k), less than Q 4, 2016 (647k). I make that slap bang on the median for the shorter Breakfast programme, and just below the average (618k).

Classic FM’s 3-hour breakfast show, at 1916k just topped its best since it also made changes five or so years ago.