THE NEW MUSICAL BOX

BBC 6 MUSIC BEATS RADIO 3

The latest radio listening figures from RAJAR  show that digital-only station BBC 6 Music has overtaken its BBC sister network Radio 3 for the first time. The figures - released today - show that for the last quarter (April - June), 6 Music averaged 1.89m listeners compared to Radio 3's 1.8m. It seems that amongst the digerati, eclectic music from across the genres trumps the classically-based stalwart.

This is fascinating news for several reasons. Firstly, 6 Music was threatened with closure by the BBC Trust just three years ago - and since then, has seen a huge transformation in its audience figures. Secondly, 6 Music is digital only, whereas Radio 3 is available on FM transmitters too. And of course, the budget for 6 Music is much smaller than that for Radio 3. Indeed, looking at digital only stations, 6 Music is way ahead of it nearest competitor, Absolute (formely Virgin) which itself turned in its best figures of 1.24m listeners. 

BBC 6 Music - More Popular
than Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 - Classical stalwart

The 6 Music mix of experienced DJs and artists turned DJ (think Jarvis Cocker, Guy Garvey, Tom Robinson, Cerys Matthews) certainly seems to be a winner - and it also, pleasingly, champions much live session music and supports concerts and special live events too.

Once with Catatonia, Cerys Matthews is now a 6 Music DJ on Sundays

Despite all the competing sources of music today, radio overall does seem remarkably healthy. Digging into the RAJAR figures, it's clear that several stations are doing very well - and this may well be driven by the increasing percentage of the population who choose to listen via a digital format. Analogue listening accounts for 56.8% of the audience (down from 58.6% for the same period last year) and for those who listen at home, it has fallen to just 45.6%. The increasing use of apps on smart phones also boosts the digital figures with something like 6.2% of all digital listening being via this medium. The CEO of Digital UK Ford Ennals commented that for digital listening to take a further boost "...will require significantly more growth in car as well as local DAB coverage to be expanded towards FM equivalence". He also adds that more national digital-only stations should be developed.

Chris Evans - Nearly 10 Millions listeners

And, it seems, some things don't really change as the UK's most popular radio show remains The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 where record figures see his listenership soar to  almost 10 million. The London market too has seen some changes in the popularity of stations serving the capital with Capital FM regaining its position as the number one commercial station with some 2.2m listeners. Only Radio 2 and Radio 4 exceed this.

Capital FM - Leading the London commercial market

If you'd like to see more about radio listener figures, click on this link and check out the RAJAR figures for yourself: RAJAR Radio Listenership Q2 2014 

Alan Dorey

31st July 2014