RAJAR: BBC Asian Network stays No.1; Panjab Radio leaps in London

The BBC Asian Network held on to the crown as the UK’s No. Asian radio station, according to audience listening figures published by RAJAR for quarter ending September 2022 (Q3/22).

The station registered a weekly reach of 476,000 – up from 473,000 from the period earlier. Its average listening hours per listener were also up from 5.1 hours to 5.4 hours. Meanwhile, commercial rival, Sunrise Radio National lost 28,000 listeners in this quarter. The station delivered a weekly reach of 348,000 – down from 376,000 in Q2/22. Sunrise Radio National’s average listening hours per listener dropped from 3.8 to 3.6.

Locally, Sunrise Radio London stayed ahead of rivals albeit with a drop of 12,000 listeners in this quarter. The station’s average listening hours per listener stayed steady at 3.3.

Tony Lit, MBE, MD Sunrise Radio said, “With the release of RAJAR Q3 2022 this morning, I’m happy to report that Sunrise Radio is confirmed the UK’s unchallenged leader in commercial Asian radio, both nationally and in London. Sunrise London alone has over 85% more weekly audience of its nearest commercial Asian radio competitor and Sunrise is the only national commercial Asian radio service. I would just like to thank Sunrise Radio’s loyal listeners, our commercial partners and my talented Sunrise Radio team.”

The big winner this quarter was Panjab Radio with an increase of nearly 50k listeners over the past three months. Panjab Radio leapt ahead with a weekly reach of 92,000 – up from 43,000. Its average listening hours per listener dropped from 5.0 to 3.6.

Amrit Basran, CEO of Panjab Radio said, “Panjab Radio team is once again in a celebratory mood achieving a staggering increase of 49,000 (15+ Adults) listeners this RAJAR, our reach of 92,000 is the highest reach since pre-pandemic times, moving us to No.2 in London’s South Asian commercial radio arena. Added to this, we have achieved an astounding 57% increase in overall listening hours.
Our continued investment into programming, coupled with our latest streaming data gives me confidence that we will continue this trend as we head into 2023. I thank our loyal listeners and advertisers while welcoming new members to the Panjab Radio family.”

London rival, Lyca Radio was down by 11,000, clocking up a reach of 69,000 from 80,000 in Q2/22. Its average listening hours per listener were at 4.1 – down from 4.3, while sister station, Lyca Gold – the UK’s only retro Asian music station piled on 11,000 new listeners in this quarter. Its weekly reach was up from 37,000 to 48,000. Lyca Gold continued to being listened to longer than any other UK Asian radio station with 7.5 average hours per listener during an average week (up from 7.2 in Q2/22).

Raj Baddhan, CEO of Lyca Media said, “The success story for Lyca Gold continues with listeners tuning into the station longer than any other UK Asian radio station during an average week. We continue to nurture the brand, which only recently celebrated its 1st year anniversary on-air. Meanwhile, Lyca Radio has undergone a few content tweaks, which is a part of our commitment to bring listeners a refreshing sound in London and beyond. A huge thanks to our commercial friends who continue to support Lyca Radio and Lyca Gold and our wonderful listeners on making the stations the success that they are.”