Q1 RAJAR ROUND-UP

RAJAR figures released for this quarter highlight increases across the board for Radio, especially Digital. RAJAR announced that 90% of the UK adult population – 47.3 million people in total – tuned into radio in Q1, up by 608,000 adults from Q1 2012. Global was crowned top of the commercial network charts, and once again, BBC Radio 2 remained the largest national station in the UK, reaching over 15 million listeners (a 4.9% increase year on year). Despite BBC leading the national charts, commercial radio continues to dominate BBC listening on a local level, boosting local commercial listening figures to 26.5m.

Digital radio has seen the biggest growth of its kind according to the latest figures, with 50% of the UK population now tuning into digital radio and total listening hours up by 14% year on year to 355 million. Absolute 80s features in Q1 as the biggest commercial digital station. Up by 14.8% year on year and with 984,000 listeners, the Absolute Radio Network continues to lead the way in digital performance with 75.3% of all listeners connecting via a digital platform. The share of all digital radio listening hours now stands at 34.3% compared to 29.2% for the corresponding period last year, with average radio listening hours now sitting at 21.9 hours per week across all platforms.

YOUTUBE BEGINS SUBSCRIPTION CHANNEL TRIALS

This month has marked the beginning of YouTube’s pilot program which sees a small group of channels charging viewers from as little as £0.64 ($0.99) a month. With more paid channels being rolled out over the coming weeks, each channel will offer a 14-day free trial and discounted annual rates. The paid channels involved in the pilot are diverse, ranging from National Geographic Kids to UFC Select, where fans will be able to watch classic fights. With a billion people around the world accessing YouTube every month, those who have paid for content will be able to view it via their smartphone, tablet, computer and TV. YouTube now joins the likes of Netflix and Amazon by offering subscription based alternatives to traditional digital television, like Sky and Virgin. YouTube remain positive that subscription based channels are a way for content creators to earn revenue for their creativity.

AUGUST SUN SET FOR £2 PAYWALL

The Sun has announced plans to introduce a £2 a week paywall in August, coinciding with the launch of its new entertainment package ‘Sun +’. Sun+ will be available across web, phone and tablet and amongst offers and promotions will most crucially provide access to Premier League clips and footage after News International secured the three year deal with the Premiership in January. The agreement with the Premiership means the News International Group now holds exclusive rights to show clips of all 380 Premier League football matches per season on The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times digital platforms. Following a similar strategy launched by the Times, Mike Darcey, CEO of NI Group Ltd, said: “This move ensures we will be offering a compelling paid-for package across all our titles, delivering great value for news that is worth paying for. With the addition of the Premier League clips, we will be able to build on The Times’ credentials as Sports Newspaper of the Year.’

ITV SCORES ENGLAND EURO 2016 & WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFYING RIGHTS

ITV has secured exclusive rights to air all England’s international qualifying matches for Euro 2016 & World Cup 2018. Coverage of the qualifying competitions expands the channel’s commitment to showing live, free-to-air coverage of the England football team and is the first time in recent years that a single broadcaster will show all of England’s qualifying games for consecutive major tournaments. ITV have held rights to England’s home games since 2008 and since 2009 the team’s home and away friendly matches, however this new deal extends their coverage to all away internationals. Peter Fincham, ITV Director of Television, said: “Bringing viewers exclusive live coverage of each key England international match is hugely important to ITV and means football fans will be able to watch for free England’s progress both at home and abroad as they attempt to qualify for the final stages of these tournaments.”