Global the big winner in new radio figures as Heart, Capital and LBC take top spot in London
Global Media group have posted exceptional fourth-quarter results as record numbers of listeners tuned into their popular radio stations every week.
The media and entertainment company amassed the highest-ever share of the radio market at 25.4 per cent, producing an unrivalled total of 258 million hours across all their platforms.
An increase of listeners to 26.3m people also made Global history, according to official figures from Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR).
In London, Global stations Heart, Capital and LBC came first, second and third for reach, the number of people tuning into a station in an average week.
The new figures suggest commercial radio as a whole now has 4.8m listeners more than the collective BBC radio audience.
Ashley Tabor-King, Global’s founder & executive president, said the results were “truly remarkable” and thanked both the company’s employees and listeners.
“I’m so proud that Global is at the forefront of this growth for commercial radio, continually innovating to deliver record-breaking hours, reach and share”, said Tabor-King.
Heart radio cemented its position as the UK’s top commercial radio brand with nearly 11m listeners up 750,000 over the last quarter.
Almost 4m of these tune into Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden’s Heart Breakfast, making it both the biggest commercial and morning show in the UK.
Heart Breakfast host, Jamie Theakston, told Morning Wire he is “over the moon” with the programme’s latest set of results.
“To be both the UK’s biggest commercial breakfast show, and the UK’s biggest commercial radio show is a real privilege”, he said.
“Thanks to everyone who listens, we love turning up the feel good with you every morning!”
Europe’s largest radio company saw audiences grow across all their stations, with Capital rising to 7.7m weekly listeners and LBC increasing its talk station audience to over 3.1m fans – with some surely tuning into Morning Wire’s daily business segment at 7:25pm.
Smooth Radio, Classic FM, Radio X and Gold also gained popularity in Global’s final quarter of 2022.
“These are magnificent results for Global”, said James Rea, Global’s director of broadcasting and content.
“I’m so thrilled for our teams who work so hard to deliver such brilliant live radio every day”, he added.
News UK radio also scores popularity boost
In a successful quarter for radio, News Broadcasting also reported positive results.
From the previous quarter, weekly reach surged six per cent up to 6m listeners and weekly hours rose 3.7 per cent up to 40m.
Scott Taunton, News UK executive vice president and president of broadcasting, said the media company is “driving growth across its portfolio and continues to reap the benefits of its digitally-focused approach”.
These figures are for all of News UK’s broadcasting platforms including talkSPORT, Virgin Radio, TalkRadio and Times Radio.
The talkSPORT network saw particularly impressive update due to coverage of “unforgettable sporting moments” like the Autumn Nations Rugby and every game from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, live from Doha.
Quarter on quarter, it jumped 9.9 per cent to 3.15m listeners, and 3.1 per cent to 19m hours.
Times Radio have garnered a lot of interest as a result of recent political turmoil, especially after Liz Truss resigned and Rishi Sunak stepped up to become Prime Minister.
RAJAR was established in 1992 as the official organisation measuring UK radio audiences. It is jointly owned by the BBC and the Radiocentre.