Absolute Radio RAJAR: Q4 2009

04Feb

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4th February 2010

EMBARGOED UNTIL 7AM THURSDAY 4th FEBRUARY

  • Absolute Radio posts a 2.1% increase in total hours quarter on quarter
  • The station announces a new marketing campaign set to roll out from the end of February focusing on Christian O’Connell, Frank Skinner and Dave Gorman
  • Absolute Radio’s national listening via a digital platform has risen to 54%. It remains the only radio group to have hit the 50% digital listening penetration target set out in the Digital Britain report

This quarter, Absolute Radio has shown an increase in total hours – a strong indicator of listener satisfaction – of 2.1% quarter on quarter in today’s RAJAR results. Christian O’Connell’s breakfast audience has also increased by 5% to 845,000 per week quarter on quarter.

The station’s reach has dropped by 5.9% quarter on quarter. Absolute Radio is announcing a brand new marketing campaign set to roll out at from the end of February 2010. The creative will focus on the station’s new 7 Day Breakfast offering, featuring week day presenter Christian O’Connell and newly-signed comedic talent Frank Skinner and Dave Gorman who host Saturday and Sunday morning shows respectively.

Year on year the station records a drop of 20.9% in reach and 9.9% in total hours which, given the rebrand of the station, is well within our forecasts.

Absolute Radio is a pioneer within the radio industry with 54% of the station’s national listening now on a digital platform (up 9% year on year and 2.5% quarter on quarter) compared to the industry average of 20.9%. It remains the only radio group to have hit the 50% national digital listening penetration target set out in the Digital Britain report earlier this year.

Said Clive Dickens, Chief Operating Officer, Absolute Radio: “Total listening hours are a strong indicator of listener satisfaction and we are very pleased with this result. Our monthly live streamed hours which we released last week – a new measurement system of accurate data from internet devices, show that we also now have 6.9 million hours recorded listening for the brand network for December, an increase of 10.3% from September.”

With product satisfaction amongst our listeners growing, our focus will continue to be on increasing our reach, especially in the morning with our new breakfast marketing campaign.”
Absolute Radio is a music and entertainment brand with audio at its core that is in transition from an analogue to a digital world. Digital innovation is core to the station’s business and Absolute Radio continues to lead the radio industry.

Source: RAJAR / Ipsos – MORI / RSMB, period ending December 2009, all stations and groups results are reported on their specified reporting period and TSA.

Categories: Absolute Radio rajar 0

Posted by adam on February 4, 2010

Playlist: 3rd February

03Feb

The playlist is out now.

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Boston – More Than A Feeling
Rock music doesn’t come much more classic than this. The riff from the band’s very first single, released in September 1976, has been imitated many times: even Kurt Cobain admitted to recycling it for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. The song is now back in the UK charts again, mainly thanks to its use in the latest Barclaycard advert.

Marina and The Diamonds – Hollywood (1st February)
Welsh singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis goes by the name Marina and the Diamonds (the English translation of her Greek surname). She came #2 in the recent BBC Sound of 2010 poll, voted for by industry experts like our very own Head of Music James Curran. Her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ is released on the 15th of February.

Train – Hey, Soul Sister (release date TBC)
The San Francisco band, who started out a Led Zeppelin covers outfit, are best known for their 2001 hit ‘Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)’. This track, their 1st single in 3 years, sees a return to the band’s folk-rock roots and has already become a major success in the U.S.

Categories: playlist 0

Posted by carrie on February 3, 2010

Teenage Cancer Trust Concerts 2010

01Feb

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Once again Absolute Radio is teaming up with the Teenage Cancer Trust to help promote a series of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall. This morning the ten artists and concerts were announced on the Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show. All profits from these concerts of course go to straight to the Teenage Cancer Trust supporting the fantastic work it does.

The brainchild of The Who’s Roger Daltrey CBE, the now-famed gigs raise money to help the charity provide the best possible care and support for young people with cancer. Since they began in 2000, the concerts have raised over £8.7million for young people with cancer, opening 9 units across the UK for teenagers with cancer.

Teenage Cancer Trust builds specialist units in NHS hospitals where teenagers can be treated with others their own age in an environment suited to their needs. Usually placed on a children’s ward or with elderly patients, young people are often left feeling extremely isolated when facing a cancer diagnosis. Currently only half of teenagers diagnosed with cancer have access to the specialist support provided by Teenage Cancer Trust’s units. The charity aims to build enough units so that, by 2012, every single teenager will be treated on one.

This our seventh year of supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Here’s the full line-up:

• Wednesday 17 February – Depeche Mode [Sold Out]
• Monday 22 March – Them Crooked Vultures
• Tuesday 23 March – Comedy night: Jimmy Carr, Noel Fielding and Rhod Gilbert
• Wednesday 24 March – Suede
• Thursday 25 March – Noel Gallagher
• Friday 26 March – Noel Gallagher
• Saturday 27 March – Arctic Monkeys
• Sunday 28 March – JLS
• Monday 29 March – The Specials
• Tuesday 30 March – The Who (performing Quadrophenia)

Tickets go on sale this Friday, 5 February, at 9am. Tickets will be available from the Absolute Radio Ticket office.

As ever, there’ll be full coverage of these gigs here on Absolute Radio with more details in due course. And listen in this evening to Geoff Lloyd who’ll be talking to Roger Daltry about this year’s gigs on his Hometime Show this evening.

Some facts about the gig series:

  • Noel Gallagher is a major supporter and has played for 3 times before in 2000, 2003, 2007.
  • Noel Gallagher will perform for the first time since the Oasis split & Dave Grohl will perform as part of Them Crooked Vultures…Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and John Paul Jones (Led Zep) make up the group.
  • Jimmy Carr is hosting the comedy night.
  • The Specials will receive their NME Outstanding Contribution award at the Shockwaves NME Awards on Feb 24th.  In recognition of Teenage Cancer Trust’s link with the British Music Industry and work with young people with cancer, NME has renamed the award the Teenage Cancer Trust Outstanding Contribution.  Monday 29 is the Shockwaves NME Awards Big Gig.
  • JLS are the first dance/urban band to play at the concerts.
  • 2010 is a huge celebration year: it’s the 20th anniversary of the opening our first specialist unit for young people with cancer and the 10th anniversary of Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.
  • Since they began in 2000, the concerts have raised over £8.7million for young people with cancer.
  • Since the first show in 2000, Teenage Cancer Trust has opened 10 units across the UK.
  • Teenage Cancer Trust has a total of 15 units across the UK, 7 of which were opened this year.
Categories: Music 1

Posted by adam on February 1, 2010

Absolute Radio becomes first European radio station on Amazon’s Kindle by Paul Brown

01Feb

We are continually reviewing new connected devices to the market that are capable of live and on-demand audio and giving our community of audiences the ability to hear us wherever they are and whatever they are doing. Taking our content to the listener and giving them the choice is an important part of our ‘listen strategy’. The One Golden Square Labs team have the tough job of playing with new toys and figuring out how we can be heard.

So what’s next? Well, lots in fact plus there’s a little something that you may have heard of called an Apple iPad we have installed the new SDK and I know the team are really looking forward to that package arriving sometime soon!

If you find a device that we cannot be heard on, why not leave us a comment and challenge the team? We do like a challenge!

In the meantime, take a look at what we’ve done with the Amazon Kindle in the video below.

Paul

Kindle

Categories: Technology 1

Posted by adam on February 1, 2010

Programming Changes by Tony Moorey

29Jan

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We have made some changes to our Music, Programmes and Production teams.

In the past 15 months James Curran’s Music team have secured some amazing live performances from Chris Martin, Florence & The Machine, Doves, Madness, Biffy Clyro, Keane, Tori Amos, as well as interviews with U2, Green Day and Elbow. Between them they have also radically deepened our playlist, implemented the No Repeat Guarantee and been the creators and custodians of music catalogues for four radio services including Absolute Classic Rock, Absolute 80s and dabbl. To recognise this amazing effort and impact it has on the product Tim Vernon becomes Deputy Head of Music and David Lambert becomes Music Producer, Digital.

Our Executive Producer, Paul Sylvester, now takes on the responsibility for leading the Programmes team. Paul continues to run the programme schedule and spearhead the Absolute Radio branded podcast strategy which delivered us 5.8 million downloads in 2009.

Brian Murphy becomes Head of Production. In this new role he will lead our Sony Award winning team in producing finely crafted audio for the Content and Branded Content departments. Brian also retains responsibilities for scouting and developing new broadcasting talent and will work closely with the Promotions and Sponsorship teams on revenue generating programming.

Finally, to acknowledge the great work Vince Lynch has done in the past year in setting up our music publishing deal with EMI and leading the new One Golden Square Creative initiative, he becomes Creative & Publishing Director.

Over the next few days we I look forward to announcing more details of our new Interactive teams, but for now, please join me in congratulating the above members of Music, Programmes and Production.

Tony

Categories: People 2

Posted by adam on January 29, 2010