With the green light from the Competition Commission to proceed with the takeover of Real and Smooth (subject to the sell-off of eight stations to Communicorp), Global have restructured both the Heart and Smooth radio networks. The re-brand of the Real Radio network to Heart and the Gold network to Smooth has resulted in growth in reach for both networks: Heart from 7.3 million to 9.1 million and Smooth from 3.4 million to 4.3 million.
Global’s track record in investing in their radio brands and growing commercial listening (proven with the launch of the Capital network) continues with extensive marketing for both Heart and Smooth – and can only be a good thing for commercial radio moving forward.
Global’s domination of commercial listening hours (a 41 per cent share) and brands within its portfolio to take on the BBC (Capital and Radio 1, Heart and Smooth and Radio 2 as examples) places it in a strong position. Undoubtedly, both the new Heart and Smooth networks will demonstrate growth in the next few RAJAR surveys.
With the recent buy-out of Absolute by Bauer, talkSPORT is left as the ‘last man standing’ – who will buy talkSPORT? Global? Bauer? Someone else? Watch this space.
Headlines for RAJAR Q1 2014:
- Weekly radio reach now tops 48.1 million, (90 per cent of UK population) up 800,000 on the same quarter of the previous year.
- Global has maintained its dominance over the national stations and networks, with weekly reach now at 21.4 million. Heart has celebrated a quarterly increase in reach of 25 per cent, now reaching 9.1 million and standing strongly as the biggest UK radio brand.
- In London, Magic 105.4 has regained its number one position over Capital reaching 1.9 million listeners.
- Dave Berry and Lisa Snowdon continue to dominate breakfast as Capital London remains in the top spot, reaching just shy of a million listeners
- 51 per cent of the population have tuned in to radio via a digital platform, which means that all radio listening via a digital platform now stands at 36.6 per cent compared to 34.1 per cent for the corresponding period last year