Radio News

What does the BBC’s Annual Plan say about Radio?

OPINION: The BBC is required to publish its annual plan each year. Just as with every broadcaster, however – and every industry – this year’s is atypical. Even when the COVID crisis abates, life will never be the same again. My notes here focus largely on radio, but it is worth citing the general headlines from the report, which bear out Ofcom’s latest research published yesterday: “As social distancing began in the UK in the third week of March, pan-BBC reach among adults peaked at 94%. That is: 94% of the British public used the BBC that week. 86% of young adults aged 16-34 used the BBC that week, up from 77% the week before”...

KISS to join six other Bauer stations in Europe for #RadioRave

A 5-hour dance music show is to air across seven radio station in Europe at the end of this month – across the seven countries that Bauer Media operates radio stations in. The #RadioRave will broadcast on KISS in the UK, along with KISS branded stations in Norway and Finland, RMF Maxxx in Poland, The Voice in Denmark, NRJ in Sweden and Radio Expres in Slovakia. The line-up for the show at 8pm Central European Time on Saturday 30th May will feature DJs including David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Majestic and Joel Corry, in what Bauer is calling ‘one of Europe’s largest house parties’...

The Prince of Wales to host Classic FM shows

Classic FM is to broadcast two special programmes with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales next week. Both two-hour programmes will be a celebration of His Royal Highness’s life-long support and enjoyment of classical music – with each piece personally chosen by him through recordings made by his extensive musical patronages across the UK. These include the Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Monteverdi and Bach Choirs, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Classic FM presenter Alan Titchmarsh will join His Royal Highness for the first programme, on Monday 25th May at 8pm...

Maya Jama leaves BBC Radio 1 after two years

Weekend morning show presenter Maya Jama has left BBC Radio 1 after deciding not to renew her contract. She joined the station in 2018 and has most recently been hosting 10am-1pm on Friday and Saturdays. During the coronavirus schedules the weekend mornings slot has been on a 3-week changing cylce between Maya, Jordan North and Dev & Alice. Radio 1 says Jordan, Dev and Alice will continue to do the show in rotation. It means Maya’s final show on the station was Sunday 3rd May. The BBC says ‘exciting commitments later in the year’ mean she’s not able to dedicate the time needed to her show...

Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 show loses a million listeners

Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 show has lost 1 million weekly listeners since she replaced Chris Evans as presenter of the UK’s most popular breakfast show. Ball, who admitted in a recent interview that losing listeners is something she “takes completely to heart”, has seen her audience decline dramatically since Evans’ departure. He broadcast his final show on Christmas Eve 2018, and is now at Virgin Radio. Ball drew an average of 8.1 million weekly listeners to her breakfast show in the first quarter of this year, compared with the 9.1 million listeners Evans attracted in the final quarter of 2018. In an interview with Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in February, Ball admitted that...

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...