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RAJAR: BBC A Network delivers record ratings

BBC Asian Network

The BBC Asian Network has delivered record high ratings in latest official data from RAJAR for Q2/16.

The station proved a massive draw with an impressive 676,000 listeners tuning in per week – that’s an increase of a huge 114,000 listeners during the past three months. In Q1/16, the BBC Asian Network had a reach of 562,000 listeners. Quarter-on-quarter, the station has grown by 20.3%, while year-on-year the station is up marginally by 11.4%. This time last year, the BBC Asian Network had an audience of 607,000 listeners.

The BBC Asian Network has reaffirmed its status as the UK’s most listened to Asian radio station beating all commercial rivals. The news will be welcomed by Asian Network bosses, who have been under pressure to differentiate its product to commercial stations. Furthermore, the BBC has been under the scanner recently with the charter renewal and ongoing cuts. It’s also worth noting that a handful of Asian commercial stations went national during this period, with Sunrise Radio being its biggest contender delivering a decent amount of listeners for the first time since it went national.

In terms of programming, the BBC Asian Network has reported record high audiences for Tommy Sandhu’s Breakfast show, which is aired Monday to Friday between 06:00-10:00. It had a weekly audience of 323,000 listeners – up from 262,000 (Q1/16) and up also on a year ago when it attracted 246,000 listeners. There was further good news for Bollywood duo Raj & Pablo, whose flamboyant style has got them record audiences for their Saturday morning show between 10:00-13:00. The show was listened to by 145,000 listeners during this quarter, up from 109,000 listeners in Q1/16 and also up from 113,000 listeners from a year ago.

Bob Shennan, Controller Radio 2, 6 Music and Asian Network told BizAsiaLive.com, ���This is a fantastic record for BBC Asian Network and biggest ever audiences for Tommy Sandhu and Raj & Pablo. The station�۪s mix of investigative journalism, debate and documentary programming, plus its unique music mix with particular support for British Asian talent is proving to be popular and we�۪ll continue to bring new programming and presenters to our listeners.”

Other UK based Asian radio stations such as Radio XL in Birmingham, Sabras Radio in Leicester, Asian Sound in Manchester, Sunrise Radio FM in Yorkshire and other digital and community Asian radio stations do not subscribe to RAJAR. Panjab Radio National and Awesome Radio National also do not subscribe to RAJAR.

Also in RAJAR Q2/16 – Read these:
Dilse Radio breaks through 100k barrier
Sunrise Radio starts off well nationally
Panjab Radio grows steadily