Mainstream loses out to Radio 2 and specialist stations

LONDON - Mainstream stations, including hard hit Radio 1, Virgin and Capital, are the losers in the latest set of Rajar figures, as Radio 2 continued to grow and listeners turned to more specialist music stations such as Xfm.

Radio 1 saw its share of listeners fall to 8.4% from 9.1% in the same period last year with a weekly reach of 10.5m, down from 10.8m last time. Its reach is being eroded by the success of sister station Radio 2 and smaller stations such as Capital Radio Group's Xfm, Guardian Media Group's Jazz FM, and Classic FM.

Radio 2's weekly reach was up to 13.26m from 12.34m last time. Its share of listeners is 15.8%, up from 15.2% a year earlier, affecting rival commercial Virgin Radio.

Virgin Radio was down with a 1.6% share of listeners from 1.8% last time. Its weekly reach was down to 2.8m from 3.23m.

Capital Radio Group's flagship London station Capital 95.8FM was in trouble, as its share of listeners plunged to 8.8% from 10.9% last year. Its weekly reach fell to 2.460m from 2.951m. However, the station recently announced a wave of changes to its music policy, including a move away from pop, in an attempt to reflect the urban culture in London.

It was not all bad news for Capital though, as its alternative music station Xfm continued to grow, recording 1.7% share of listeners, up from 1.3% in the September to December period 2001. It has increased its weekly reach by 34,000 in the last year to 484,000, although it is down from 535,000 in the last quarter.

The station is embarking on a tube poster campaign featuring its top presenters Zoe Ball, Ricky Gervais, and the breakfast show's Christian O'Connell to help boost listeners during the January to March quarter.

Classic FM increased its share of listeners to 4.7%, up from 4.5% following a number of new presenter signings, including Katie Derham and Stephen Fry, as part of its strategy to appeal to younger listeners. Its weekly reach dropped to 6.657m from 6.698m last year.

Its rival BBC station Radio 3 also grew, with its weekly reach at 2.15m, up from 2m last time, and its share of listeners grew to 1.2% up from 1.1%.

Jazz FM continues to prove it was worth the £44.5m Guardian Media Group paid for it last summer. Its weekly reach grew to 978,000, up from 857,000. Its share of listeners was 1.5%, up from 1% last time.

Emap's dance music station Kiss FM saw its share of listeners grow to 4.9% up from 4.2%, although its weekly reach was down to 1.62m from 1.63m last time.

Overall, commercial radio's weekly reach was 31.9m, up from 31.8m and its share of listeners grew to 45.5% from 44.6%. The BBC's reach rose was down to 52.5% from 53.4% last time. However, its share of listeners grew to 32.72m from 32.67m a year ago.

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