Virgin Radio has continued its impressive recent performance in the latest set of Rajar figures. The country?s only commercial rock and pop music station has added 23,000 listeners and nearly one million extra hours during the last quarter.
This growth completes a positive 2005, with the station adding over 2 million hours, boosting its market share from 3.3% to 3.6 % in London and up to 1.6% nationally.
Pete and Geoff left the Virgin Radio Breakfast Show on a high with a national audience of 1.24m listeners, a year on year boost of 118,000 listeners in London and an extra 140,000 across the UK. Christian O?Connell who took over the reins on January 23 inherits a growing show with great potential.
Virgin Radio Xtreme, the new music station available on DAB in London and via Sky and the internet nationwide, has delivered a stunning debut set of Rajar figures. 82,000 people tuned in for 359,000 hours to the station adding to the growing Virgin Radio Network. The family of SMG owned stations; Virgin Radio, Virgin Radio Classic Rock, Virgin Radio Groove and now Virgin Radio Xtreme; deliver a massive mainstream national audience of over 2.7 million listeners. This audience, highly desired by the advertising community, is listening for 16% longer than this time last year ? an enviable 18.1 million hours.
Paul Jackson, Programme Director at Virgin Radio, said ?2005 has been a big success for Virgin Radio and with Christian O?Connell onboard 2006 will be even better.?