Radio News

RAJAR Q1 2020: Regional and local radio facts and figures

XS Manchester has doubled its listening hours year-on-year after the station was saved from closure. The Communicorp station now has 132,000 weekly reach (last year 94,000) and 1.28 million hours (last year 546k), giving it more total hours than Manchester’s heritage station Hits Radio. Also in the north west, Radio City Talk, which will close at the end of this month, leaves with 32,000 weekly listeners, down from 45,000 a year ago. Sticking with Bauer, local stations are mostly on the up. Of the 15 local services for Greatest Hits Radio in Scotland and England, eight are up and seven are down...

RAJAR Q1 2020: Four percent growth in digital share

Digital listening share has increased to a new record of 58.6% up from 56.4% year on year in the latest RAJAR figures. Digital reach is also at a new record with 36.9 million adults, or 67% of the population, tuning in via a digital platform, up from 36.3m in Q1 2019. Listening via online and apps now accounts for 14% of all listening and nearly a quarter (24%) of digital listening, having grown by 25.4 million hours (or by 23%) year on year. With 32% of adults now claiming to own a smart speaker, online listening in home was for the fourth consecutive quarter the fastest growing platform and location, increasing by 21 million hours (or by 26.6%) year on year...

RAJAR Q1 2020: London and national brands roundup

BBC Radio 2 has lost almost a million listeners in the last year, according to the Q1/2020 audience research from RAJAR. The reach of the UK’s biggest radio station fell from 15.356m at the start of 2019 to 14.362m over the first three months of this year. The two biggest commercial radio networks – Heart and Capital – both lost significant reach over the 12 months too. The Heart network lost 787,000 listeners to leave a reach of 7.737m, while Capital dropped 815,000 to 6.386m. When you add in the other Heart and Capital branded stations – 70s, 80s, 90s, Dance, Xtra and Xtra Reloaded – the Heart brand reaches 9.365m and the Capital brand 7.502m...

Ronan & Harriet join Tuning In Livestream line-up

The line-up for the Tuning In Livestream event has been announced by Radiocentre. Magic Radio’s Breakfast hosts Ronan Keating & Harriet Scott will join in to discuss broadcasting their show from home, and how it feels to present a radio show during a crisis. Radiocentre CEO Siobhan Kenny will open the conference with a presentation about the work of commercial radio and Radiocentre during the Coronavirus pandemic, both on-air and behind the scenes. Songwriter and artist Amy Wadge will discuss the importance of radio’s role in making a hit song with KISS presenter Swarzy. Geoff de Burca, Chief Strategy Officer at Mediacom, will look at what next for the economy, brands and media and suggest where radio fits in...

Radio presenter special version of PopMaster planned

BBC Radio 2 has announced a special radio presenter version of PopMaster, which will air on the station on Bank Holiday Monday at the end of this month. Instead of just being in its usual 10.30am slot, the feature will run through the day on 25th May, with separate rounds taking place from 7.35am to 5.30pm. Presenters taking part in the quiz will include Zoe Ball, Greg James, Dotun Adebayo and Magic’s Ronan Keating – as well as other as-yet-announced BBC and commercial radio hosts. Ken Bruce will be quizmaster for hourly heats through the day, starting on the breakfast show with Dermot O’Leary, running through...

Heart gives away £1million to one radio listener

Heart’s Make Me a Millionaire came to a conclusion this week after Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden gave away a million pounds. The competition has seen hundreds of winners take home prize sums of up to £30,000 and after an 11-week run on-air, the grand finale took place on Thursday. Over the past three months, each winner has faced an ultimatum – to take that day’s prize fund, which has ranged from £1,000 to £30,000 – or enter into the draw for a chance of winning £1 million. Heart listener Tommy – a key worker who works for the electricity board – won the grand prize of £1,000,000 on Thursday during an extended breakfast show, with nine runners-up leaving with £1,000 each...

Winners announced for Young Audio Awards 2020

All the winners from this year’s Young Audio Awards have been announced during an online awards ceremony hosted from home by Award Ambassadors Matt Edmondson and Mollie King from BBC Radio 1. They were joined by special guests including Annie Mac presenting Best in Music to 15-year-old Oli Hackett, whose show, Musicals My Way, is syndicated from his home in Corby and airs across 43 different radio stations around the world, including in the USA and Spain. Other presenters included TV and BBC Radio 2 presenter Rylan, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Laura Whitmore, singer and Hits Radio Breakfast presenter Fleur East, KISS FM’s Tyler West and Swarzy, and BBC Radio 1’s Greg James...

Robbie Vincent returns to Jazz FM for bank holiday show

Presenter Robbie Vincent is heading back to Jazz FM to host a show for the station for the first time in five years. The former Radio London, Radio 1 and Kiss DJ has been a figurehead of jazz, funk and soul music broadcasting for the last five decades. He previously hosted the Jazz FM breakfast show from 1998 to 2002 and the Sunday Morning Soul show 2008 to 2013. Robbie appeared as a guest on Jazz FM for the station’s 30th birthday celebrations earlier this year. He’ll be back with a four hour show, 10am-2pm on Friday 8th May, which will include some archive content from interviews he’s done with musicians over the years...

5 Live Sport boss Mike Carr departs BBC after 18 years

The Editor of 5 Live Sport, Mike Carr, has left the BBC after 18 years, with staff told his immediate departure was to ‘avoid any potential conflict of interest’. He has been overseeing the station’s sports output since 2011, having previously worked as an Assistant Editor and Producer in BBC Radio Sport – which he joined in 2002. Before joining the BBC he’d worked in roles at Trinity Mirror and ITN. Ben Gallop, Head of Radio & Digital at BBC Sport, told staff in an email: “Mike is leaving to pursue an opportunity outside the BBC. To avoid any potential conflict of interest we have agreed it is best for Mike to leave with immediate effect. He goes with our best wishes and our thanks for all his work over many years for BBC Sport...

Eurovision 2020 on the BBC

There may be no actual contest happening this year, but the BBC is promising plenty of Eurovision content across TV, radio and online in celebration of the biggest music competition in the world. From a night of special programmes celebrating this year’s contest on BBC One, to revisiting classic moments on BBC Two and a host of specially themed programmes and treats from the archives to enjoy on BBC Radio 2, there will be a host of Eurovision content for fans to look forward to this May. Familiar Eurovision faces including Graham Norton, Ken Bruce, Rylan Clark-Neal and many more will help bring Eurovision joy into homes across the country, uniting and entertaining viewers with plenty of Eurovision programmes and specials in store...