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Rajar results give Harrison hope

Posted in Media February 2nd, 2007 by Branwell Johnson

Just over a week after RadioCentre chief executive Andrew Harrison made his rallying cry to the troops that the sector “would recover in the next three years what we have lost in the last three year”, details in the latest Rajar figures might suggest  that his Henry V -style speech may have some grounding in reality.

There is no denying the challenge facing commercial radio as young audiences turn to internet-based pursuits and advertisers follow suit with their marketing pounds. The BBC continues to invest in its offering and increased its lead in market share in the Rajar figures, albeit only by 0.1 per cent. However, that’s a reversal of the previous two quarters when commercial stations had begun to make up ground against the BBC.

But there is cause for optimism in the commercial world on several fronts, not least the fact that overall radio listening reached a record high with 90 per cent of the UK population tuning in their radios each week.

While much glee has surrounded the toppling of Capital Radio’s Johnny Vaughan from the breakfast show top slot in London, parent company GCap has actually begun to stabilise after a turbulent few years following the merger between GWR and Capital Radio.

A strong GCap is good for the whole industry and with promises of a marketing campaign for London and the arrival of Fru Hazlitt to take the helm of the flagship station in May, expect Capital Radio to turn a corner by the end of the year, if not sooner.

The looming acquisition of Virgin Radio by UTV should ultimately benefit the marketplace. There will be upheaval following Hazlitt’s departure, with other senior members of the team likely to leave, but ultimately if a stronger entity emerges – which has learnt from the GCap merger debacle – then all to the good.

The medium’s apparent saviour is digital radio and while there was no vast leap in the “digital enabled universe” – it moved one percentage point to 55 per cent quarter on quarter - the Rajar figures did not include the Christmas period when many people should have received shiny new DAB sets.

There are developments pointing the way forward as digital technology and the internet present stations with new opportunities, such as branded content podcasts and the ability to create social networking environments.

Media buyers canvassed by mad.co.uk remain reservedly upbeat on the whole. Whether Harrison will be looking for a new hat on which to dine in 2010 is impossible to predict but optimists may want to lay the champagne in early.