London loses its Magic as Capital dominates radio listening

Rajar: Global Radio’s Capital has returned to the top of the most listened-to commercial radio stations in London, narrowly beating sister station Heart to the crown.

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Capital 95.8 pulled in 2.18 million listeners a week in the three months to 31 March, up 14.4% year on year and up 11.1% for the quarter. The station hit the number one London spot for the first time since 2005.

The station also had the highest market share among commercial radio stations at 6.1%. Capital’s breakfast duo Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowdon were ahead of their competitors, attracting 1.23 million listeners to their early morning slot.

Capital went nationwide in January in a bid to become a long-term competitor to BBC Radio 1, backed by a major marketing initiative and Virgin Media sponsorship.

London’s most popular radio station for the previous quarter, Bauer’s Magic 105.4, lost 2.6% of its audience in the quarter and was down to 1.99 m listeners in the capital for the three months to March.

Magic is down 0.3% year on year and now commands a 5.3% audience share in London. Its breakfast DJ Neil Fox had 839,000 listeners, a loss on the previous quarter’s 854,000.

Global Radio’s Heart saw a resurgence in the quarter and registered 2.11 million listeners, up 19.3% for the three months to March and up 11.8%year on year.

At breakfast, Heart’s Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott drew in 860,000 listeners.

Urban station Kiss 100 remained flat for the quarter with 1.82 million listeners but is up 9.2% year on year.

Kiss’ breakfast pairing Rickie and Melvin registered 761,000 listeners, down on the quarter but up year on year.

Top 5 commercial radio stations in London
Source: Rajar

1. 95.8 Capital Reach: 2.18m Share: 6.1%
2. Heart London Reach: 2.11m Share: 4.9%
3. Magic 105.4 Reach: 1.99m Share: 5.3%
4. Kiss 100 Reach: 1.82m Share: 4.7%
5. LBC 97.3 Reach: 935,000 Share: 5.1%