Capital 95.8 drops to lowest ever audience figures

Capital 95.8 has recorded its lowest ever share of audience and slipped into fourth place in London. The latest radio audience figures show that GCap Media’s flagship London station is now behind EMAP-owned Kiss, which has moved into third spot.

The Rajar figures for the second quarter of the year show that Capital’s share has dropped to 4.1% – down from 5% for the same period last year. Kiss rose from 4.4% last year to 4.5% for the latest quarter.

In a further blow to Capital, the Johnny Vaughan breakfast show also lost its position as number one breakfast show in commercial radio to Heart’s Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott. Vaughan first lost his crown last year but won it back in the first quarter of 2007.

Magic, also owned by EMAP, has retained the top spot in London with 1.96 million listeners – up from 1.87 million last year – and Heart, recently sold by Chrysalis to Global Radio, is in second place with 1.81 million listeners – up from 1.67 million a year ago. Capital saw its listeners drop from 1.64 million last year to 1.52 million despite the station launching a major ad campaign over the quarter.

Meanwhile, commercial radio increased its share of listening by 4% over the last year, adding 1.3 million listeners compared to the same period last year to take its overall reach to 32 million adults.