GMG Radio?s portfolio of Real Radio and Smooth FM stations have topped 3 million listeners a week for the first time, new industry research shows today.
In the North West of England 100.4 Smooth FM has turned in an outstanding performance, adding more than 100,000 listeners Q on Q and almost 200,000 since the station?s launch a year ago to give it a new record high for the frequency of 529,000 adult listeners a week.
Since the Smooth FM brand launched in March 2004, the market share has doubled to 4.5%. Hours are also at record levels of 10.1 hours per adult per week ? an increase in total hours of more than 2 million on the quarter to 5.3 million hours a week. These figures bode well for its sister station in London, which was rebranded as Smooth FM in June 2005. It will receive its first set of audience figures in the Q3 research.
* Smooth FM (NW) tops half a million listeners
* Real Radio Scotland close to record 700,000 listeners a week
* GMG Radio adds over 3m hrs to achieve record 28m hrs a week
In Scotland, Real Radio has maintained its market leading position across the Central Belt. It has added 44,000 listeners in the last quarter to give it an all time high weekly reach of 693,000 adult listeners. The station has also seen new records in market share and total hours. Adults now consume a total of 7.95 million hours of Real Radio every week (11.5 hours per listener) giving the station a market share of 15.4%.
Real Radio Wales has maintained its position of Wales? No.1 commercial radio station, while Real in Yorkshire has increased reach, hours and market share. The Real Radio network has recorded its highest ever weekly reach of just short of 1.5 million adult listeners a week (1.466m).
GMG Radio Chief Executive John Myers said: ?Smooth FM in the north west has shown outstanding growth after just a year on air and Real Radio in Scotland just dominates the airwaves across the Central Belt. In an increasingly competitive market I?m delighted that our stations continue to attract significant numbers of new listeners.?
[Source: RAJAR/Ipsos-RSL p/e June 2005 within the respective station?s TSA]