The radio industry has revealed a surprisingly positive set of second quarter Rajar results, suggesting that the sector is managing to survive the surrounding advertising doom.
Although the BBC has managed to hold on to its lead in both reach and share, Classic FM, Virgin Radio and Talksport are amongst the success stories in the commercial sector.
It was a disappointing result, however, for Chrysalis' Magic London audience, which dropped in reach by seven per cent and by 17% in total listening hours.
Kelvin MacKenzie's Talksport appears to have grown in to its re-aligned male audience, recording its second successive sharp quarter increase of 10.7% year on year. With total listening hours increasing 10.7% year on year, this is the second highest percentage increase after BBC Radio 2.
"These are fantastic figures and show that talksport is getting a big thumbs up from our target audience of young men," said MacKenzie.
"We now have an audience that is unique in commercial radio."
Following a disappointing first quarter result for Virgin Radio, the station appears to have performed well throughout the second quarter.
Reporting a six per cent audience increase of 200,000 more listeners, chief executive of Virgin, John Pearson, attributes the success to the station's new music policy.
He said: "We recognise that the station has gone through a period of change over the past months and we are continuing to develop our programming."
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