The Media in Figures: Radio listening figures, Scottish stations

THE latest radio listening figures have revealed that BBC Radio Scotland has experienced an 1.8 per cent increase, year-on-year.

According to auditing authority, RAJAR, the station saw its ‘reach’ increase from an average 940,000 listeners during the first quarter of last year to an average 957,000 during there first three months of this year.

Says BBC Scotland, the 17,000 increase to 957,000 represents a four-year high. And, in a statement, Jeff Zycinski, head of Radio at BBC Scotland, is quoted, as saying: “This is another great set of figures for BBC Radio Scotland and we’re grateful to every one of those 957,000 listeners who tune in each week.

“We’re very proud of our distinctive range of speech and music programmes. We continue to evolve and refresh the schedule, offering new formats, new presenters and a truly multi-platform approach to content.”

Between Q4 2015 and Q4 2016, the station had seen its reach increase by one per cent.

‘Reach’ is defined as an adult, aged at least 15, having tuned into a station for at least five minutes during an average week.

These latest RAJAR figures include, for the second time, the year-on-year ‘reach’ numbers for the relatively new ‘hits stations’, Clyde 3, Forth 3 and Tay 3.

The reach figures in full are as follows, for Q1 2016-Q1 2017 (in brackets Q4 2015-Q4 2016)

BBC Scotland up 1.8 per cent (up one per cent)

Radio Borders down 11.9 per cent (down 8.9 per cent)

Capital Scotland down 5.1 per cent (down 4.7 per cent)

Central FM down 13.8 per cent (up 3.8 per cent)

Clyde 1 down three per cent (up 6.8 per cent)

Clyde 2 down 18.5 per cent (down 15.2 per cent)

Clyde 3 up 35.3 per cent (up 50 per cent)

Forth 1 down 3.9 per cent (down 10.6 per cent)

Forth 2 up 73.3 per cent (up 7.5 per cent)

Forth 3 down 90.9 per cent (down 37.5 per cent)

Heart Scotland (formerly Real Radio Scotland) down 5.8 per cent (down eight per cent)

Kingdom FM up 1.7 per cent (down 18.5 per cent)

Moray Firth Radio up 9.4 per cent (up 3.3 per cent)

Northsound 1 down 15.1 per cent (down 12.1 per cent)

Northsound 2 down 29 per cent (down 36.4 per cent)

Original 106 down 6.3 per cent (down 6.3 per cent)

Smooth Radio Glasgow down 6.3 per cent (up one per cent)

Tay FM up three per cent (down 3.6 per cent)

Tay 2 (formerly Tay AM) down 2.4 per cent (down 15.2 per cent)

Tay 3 down 66.7 per cent (no change)

Wave 102 down 12.5 per cent (down 24 per cent)

West Sound down 2.7 per cent (up 5.6 per cent)

Source: RAJAR, May 18 2016.