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RAJAR Ratings: Buzz Asia hits new low

The Lit Corporation’s recently acquired youth contemporary station, Buzz Asia is finding it difficult to connect with its listeners, according to official data from RAJAR for Q3/10.

The data supplied by the radio audience measuring body for the three months ending September 2010 period show that Buzz Asia could only manage a weekly reach of 107,000.

In the last three months, the station has lost a further 13,000 listeners. Calculating the total loss for the past six months, Buzz Asia has shed 24,000 listeners. A huge loss for the station, which hovered around the 200,000 mark in its Club Asia avatar. This shows that listeners have been unable to connect with the newly branded station since it was bought out by owners of Sunrise Radio, a year ago.

According to industry sources, the channel is now in revamp mode with programmes and presenters being shuffled around. Programming management at the station has also been changed.

Overview of Buzz Asia
This time last year: 188,000
As it stands now: 107,000
Difference: – 81,000

National
Sunrise Radio continued with its dominance in the UK Asian radio sector with yet another climb. It now boasts a weekly reach of over half a million listeners nationwide on its staggered DAB digital coverage.

The station, which hasn’t seen much of a difference in its ratings, recorded a weekly reach of 506,000, an increase of 12,000 extra listeners.

Overview of Sunrise Radio National
This time last year: 469,000
As it stands now: 506,000
Difference: + 37,000

The BBC Asian Network also witnessed a slight increase in its listenership. After adding on an extra 80,000 listeners in the previous quarter, the station couldn�۪t quite manage the same sort of surge but nevertheless it added 25,000 new listeners during July and September 2010. Its weekly reach now stands at 462,000, that’s a massive 105,000 increase from a year ago.

Vijay Sharma, Head of BBC Asian Network, says, “I’m very pleased with the increased listenership this quarter. We had our biggest Summer of Mela Season to date and reached thousands of people all over the country. Following the introductions of Sonia Deol and Tommy Sandhu to the daytime schedule earlier in the year, in this period we brought Noreen Khan to the Drivetime show. The increased numbers are a testament to the station’s staff, who have worked very hard to produce quality programming.”

Overview of BBC Asian Network
This time last year: 357,000
As it stands now: 462,000
Difference: + 105,000

Panjab Radio was another station that saw a significant boost this quarter. The national station (during this period) has not only been a great promoter of DAB digital radio but also shown how successful digital-only broadcasts can be if the hard work is put in.

Panjab Radio, which during this period broadcast nationally for the final time added 39,000 new listeners. Its weekly reach at present stands at 194,000 from 155,000 in the previous quarter.

Overview of Panjab Radio
This time last year: 56,000 (regional)
As it stands now: 194,000 (national)
Difference: + 138,000

Local
Sunrise Radio’s Greater London feed continues to pay dividends for the corporation. The station pulled in 8,000 more listeners than the previous quarter. Its weekly reach, which was at 364,000 has been boosted to 372,000 during this quarter.

Year-on-year, Sunrise Radio’s local output has touched new heights with an extra 17,000 new listeners.

Overview of Sunrise Radio London
This time last year: 355,000
As it stands now: 372,000
Difference: + 17,000

Its sister station, Kismat Radio too has performed well in the sampled quarter. Data shows that the adult contemporary station has racked in 19,000 new listeners in the period ending September 2010. Its weekly reach has grown from 112,000 to 131,000 now. Overall, in the space of a year, Kismat Radio like Sunrise Radio has added a further 17,000 new listeners.

Overview of Kismat Radio
This time last year: 114,000
As it stands now: 131,000
Difference: + 17,000

Other UK based Asian radio stations such as Radio XL in Birmingham, Sabras Radio in Leicester and Asian Sound in Manchester do not subscribe to RAJAR.