The Media in Figures: Radio listening figures, Scottish stations

THE latest radio listening figures have revealed that BBC Radio Scotland has experienced a 4.4 per cent decrease, year-on-year.

According to auditing authority, RAJAR, the station saw its ‘reach’ drop from an average 929,000 listeners during the second quarter of last year to an average 888,000 during the second quarter of this year, comprising the months of April, May and June.

Between Q1 2016 and Q1 2017, the station had seen its reach increase by 1.8 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 third 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 Q2 2016-Q2 2017 (in brackets Q1 2016-Q1 2017):

BBC Scotland down 4.4 per cent (up 1.8 per cent)

Radio Borders down 3.6 per cent (up 1.9 per cent)

Capital Scotland down 2.9 per cent (down 5.1 per cent)

Central FM down 7.8 per cent (down 13.8 per cent)

Clyde 1 down 11.2 per cent (down three per cent)

Clyde 2 down 15.4 per cent (down 18.5 per cent)

Clyde 3 up 11.1 per cent (up 35.3 per cent)

Forth 1 down 8.7 per cent (down 3.9 per cent)

Forth 2 up 40 per cent (up 73.3 per cent)

Forth 3 down 25 per cent (down 90.9 per cent)

Heart Scotland (formerly Real Radio Scotland) down 8.4 per cent (down 5.8 per cent)

Kingdom FM up 13 per cent (up 1.7 per cent)

Moray Firth Radio up 9.5 per cent (up 9.4 per cent)

Northsound 1 down 5.3 per cent (down 15.1 per cent)

Northsound 2 down 23.3 per cent (down 29 per cent)

Original 106 down 17.7 per cent (down 6.3 per cent)

Smooth Radio Glasgow up 0.5 per cent (down 6.3 per cent)

Tay FM down 2.2 per cent (up three per cent)

Tay 2 (formerly Tay AM) up ten per cent (down 2.4 per cent)

Tay 3 no change (down 66.7 per cent)

Wave 102 up 25 per cent (down 12.5 per cent)

West Sound up 0.6 per cent (down 2.7 per cent)

Source: RAJAR, August 3 2016.