A change of format normally means an initial drop in listeners, but Steve Penk's 96.2 The Revolution is a positive increase this quarter.
In the last quarter of 2008 the station’s audience grew by 10.5 per cent.
Steve Penk is delighted: “This is an unequivocal vote of confidence in the new format.
"What’s especially encouraging is the fact that these figures contain data from before and after the format change which suggests that we are now performing even better."
Revolution's Station Manager is John Evington. His old station Original 106 in Southampton re-launched as The Coast under new ownership. RAJAR figures show that despite The Coast only accounting for a 6 week period in the total 26 week sweep on the 106 frequency, the station doubled reach from 2 to 4 per cent and listening hours are up from 110,000 to 272,000, average hours up from 2.8 to 4.7.
Managing Director, Kevin Stewart, commented: “We are delighted with the success of the station so far. The team here has worked tremendously hard to pull together a credible station within a very short space of time and I am very encouraged that so many people in the region are not just tuning in, but staying with us day after day.”
Meanwhile former sister station Original 106 in Aberdeen has its first set of figures today. It reports a healthy 121,000 listeners giving it an 11 per cent reach and 6.6 average hours.