Bauer continues as industry leader with record high listening via a digital device

07 February 2019 - Press release

Bauer continues as industry leader with record high listening via a digital device
Magic Network and Breakfast with Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott record best-ever performances
Absolute Radio and KISS Networks up year on year
Bauer’s biggest network Hits Radio Brand posts 6.2 million listeners
Absolute Radio Dave Berry Breakfast Show remains #1 national commercial show
 
Bauer
Bauer Media posts reach of 18 million
National networks post growth including:
Record high for Magic (4.2 million up 8.3% YoY)
Absolute Radio (4.7 million up 1.1% YoY)
KISS (5.6 million up 0.1% YoY)

Digital reach achieves record high at 13.3 million – growing rapidly at 10% YoY
Bauer Media’s listening via a digital device leads the industry with a record high of 65.5% compared to commercial industry average of 52.6%
Sustained year on year growth across digital-only brands, including:
Jazz FM (589,000 up 15.7% YoY)
Planet Rock (1.1 million up 5% YoY)
 
Magic Radio Network
Magic Radio Network records best-ever audience figures with 4.2 million listeners – growing 8.3% YoY
Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott’s national Breakfast Show posts record listening figures of 1.5 million up 8.2% YoY
Digital-only extension stations continue to see rapid growth, including records for:
Mellow Magic (603,000 up 27.5% YoY)
Magic Chilled (337,000 up 25.7% YoY)
 
Absolute Radio Network
Absolute Radio Network grows to 4.8 million listeners
Dave Berry’s show remains the number one national commercial Breakfast Show with 2.2 million listeners – growing 3.1% YoY
Absolute Radio main station posts 2.4 million listeners
Digital-only extension stations continue to see growth including:
Absolute 80s (1.5 million – growing 0.3% YoY)
Absolute 90s (969,000 – growing 30% YoY) – record high
Absolute Classic Rock (773,000 – growing 14% YoY) - record high
 
KISS Network
KISS Network records 5.6 million listeners
KISS main station has 4.1 million listeners
KISSTORY remains the biggest digital-only commercial station with 1.8 million listeners (up 5.3% YoY)
KISS FRESH posts a record high with 620,000 listeners up 7.3%
 
Hits Radio
Bauer’s biggest network - Hits Radio Brand posts 6.2 million listeners
Hits Radio national Breakfast Show with Gethin Jones, Gemma Atkinson and Dave Vitty reaches 347,000 listeners, up 70.1% YoY
Greatest Hits Network reaches 1.2 million listeners – growing 5% YoY with growth across regional stations
Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool, N West & North Wales posts a record 218,000 listeners – growing 15.3% YoY
 
Dee Ford, Group Managing Director Radio, Bauer Media, said, “It’s fantastic to see Commercial Radio being the driving force behind the UK’s love affair with radio. Bauer’s strategy of creating strong and distinctive networks is paying dividends. I’m particularly delighted that Magic has delivered its biggest ever audience, and to top that off, an extra quarter of a million listeners now tune in to Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott at Breakfast.
 
Bauer has long been the industry leader in digital listening, and will continue to be on the front-foot by delighting audiences with new and distinctive services such as Scala Radio which launches on the 4th of March”.
 
Source: RAJAR / Ipsos - MORI / RSMB, period Q4 2018, all stations and groups results are reported on their specified reporting period and TSA.