According to Rajar figures for Q2 commercial radio's share increased from 41.3% in the first quarter, to 43.2% in the second quarter (29 March to 27 June) as the BBC's share fell from 56.5% to 54.6% over the same period.
Matthew Landeman, board director at Aegis media agency Carat, said: "Commercial radio groups have been investing in content and thinking about radio in new ways and it’s beginning to make a difference. It’s great to have good news to go out and tell clients."
And Landeman singled out Bauer Media for particular praise: "Bauer Media has had a really good performance both in terms of overall reach and all their key stations. I expect [sales director] Karen Stacey will be very pleased."
Dominic Woolfe, client investment director at Publicis agency Starcom, said: "[Bauer's] Kiss has done fantastically well on the back of hardly any marketing. But Kiss FM is such a good product: it knows exactly what it stands for and so does its listeners."
Speech radio also did well during the quarter aided by TalkSport broadcasting live commentary from all 64 games at the Fifa 2010 World Cup and Global Radio’s LBC coverage of the election and its aftermath. Woolfe described their numbers as "stand out".
Amanda Burningham, ideation director at Interpublic agency UM, said: "It’s a really positive set of results for commercial radio. The refreshing thing is that each group is taking a different approach and strategy in terms of taking share and it’s working.
"Global is focusing on strong national brands with Heart and Galaxy, Bauer has stuck to its guns and is championing local and Absolute is continuing to push boundaries in terms of digital focusing on strengths such as comedy and music."
Matthew Landeman, board director at Aegis media agency Carat, said: "Commercial radio groups have been investing in content and thinking about radio in new ways and it’s beginning to make a difference. It’s great to have good news to go out and tell clients."
And Landeman singled out Bauer Media for particular praise: "Bauer Media has had a really good performance both in terms of overall reach and all their key stations. I expect [sales director] Karen Stacey will be very pleased."
Dominic Woolfe, client investment director at Publicis agency Starcom, said: "[Bauer's] Kiss has done fantastically well on the back of hardly any marketing. But Kiss FM is such a good product: it knows exactly what it stands for and so does its listeners."
Speech radio also did well during the quarter aided by TalkSport broadcasting live commentary from all 64 games at the Fifa 2010 World Cup and Global Radio’s LBC coverage of the election and its aftermath. Woolfe described their numbers as "stand out".
Amanda Burningham, ideation director at Interpublic agency UM, said: "It’s a really positive set of results for commercial radio. The refreshing thing is that each group is taking a different approach and strategy in terms of taking share and it’s working.
"Global is focusing on strong national brands with Heart and Galaxy, Bauer has stuck to its guns and is championing local and Absolute is continuing to push boundaries in terms of digital focusing on strengths such as comedy and music."