- Ken Bruce's Move from Radio 2 to Greatest Hits Radio
- RAJAR Radio Audience Measurement
- Radio 2 Audience Decline
- Challenges Facing Speech Radio Stations
- Growth of Digital Spin-off Radio Stations
- BBC Local Radio Surprise Growth
- Decline in Classical Music Radio Listening
- Radio Advertising and Listening Hours
In this special RAJAR-focused episode of The Media Club, hosts Matt Deegan and Adam Bowie analyse the latest UK radio audience figures, with a particular focus on the impact of Ken Bruce's move from BBC Radio 2 to Greatest Hits Radio (GHR). They interview Gary Stein, group programme director of Hits Radio Network, who reports record-breaking growth for GHR, with Ken's show adding over 800,000 listeners in a single quarter. The hosts also review the performance of other networks, including a surprise uptick for BBC Local Radio, and discuss challenges facing speech stations like Times Radio and LBC, as well as the rise of spin-off digital stations.
Key takeaways
- Greatest Hits Radio reached an all-time high of 5.9 million listeners, with Ken Bruce's show adding over 800,000 listeners in a single quarter.
- Radio 2's audience dropped by about 1.3 million listeners, but it remains the UK's biggest radio station.
- Kisstory overtook KISS for the first time in reach, highlighting the shift towards older-skewing digital spin-offs.
- BBC Local Radio saw a surprise increase in reach of about 250,000 listeners.
- Speech stations like LBC and Times Radio experienced declines, possibly due to podcasting and news avoidance.
In this episode
- Introduction and Ken Bruce focus
- Interview with Gary Stein
- Analysis of other networks
- Speech radio and Times Radio discussion
- Classical music and measurement changes
- Wrap-up
Notable quotes
“Yeah, I mean, we are delighted today because obviously we've seen significant growth. We've got a new headline number for Greatest Hits all-time high.”
“Ken has added, it looks like close to over 800,000 listeners, Matt, in a single quarter, which is up 37% quarter on quarter in terms of the numbers.”
“It's a very rare occurrence. And I've probably only seen that happen once, Matt, and that was when Kyle and Jackie O moved from today to KISS in Sydney.”
“I can't feel too sad for Radio 2's drop. They are still a colossus, as you said, still the biggest radio station.”
“We've seen Kistory overtake KISS for the first time. So we've seen a sub-brand usurp the main brand for the first time.”
“There seems to be something going on there. I don't know. Exactly what that is is hard to say. My suspicion is it's a combination of the growth of podcasting because so much of these stations outputs is targeting perhaps the same kind of person indeed with the same programming that enjoys podcasting.”
Discussed
Ken Bruce · Greatest Hits Radio · BBC Radio 2 · Bauer Media · RAJAR
Mentioned or recommended
- PopMaster
- Ken Bruce's Secret 60s
- Greatest Hits Radio Premium
- Capital Chill
- Radio X Classic Rock
- The Today Programme
- The News Quiz
- Strictly Come Dancing
- I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
- The Media Podcast
