Quarter 3 saw the introduction of the Global's Heart Network and the Hit Music network to RAJAR. There were solid performances for Red Dragon and the Galaxy network, and record lows for BRMB and Leicester Sound.
The Heart network's starting figures saw a weekly reach of 6.5 million listeners, 52.6 million listening hours and a market share of 9.4 per cent.
The Hit Music network began with 3.33 million weekly listeners, 24.3 million hours and 7.1 per cent market share. Outside of London, it was a mixed bag of results for the new siblings. BRMB recorded its lowest ever reach – just 381,000 or 19% – while Leicester Sound posted its lowest ever total hours at 746,000. Meanwhile Red Dragon FM had saw a substantial increase in total hours – up by over 18% to 2.48 million.
The original Galaxy network of four stations – North East, Yorkshire, Manchester and Birmingham performed well quarter-on-quarter; Manchester and the North East saw increases across the board, in reach, hours and share.
Global have also inherited an improved Gold Network – GCap's former AM stations increased total listening by nearly a million hours, to 7.93 million.