Local Radio Performing Well

Say: Northern Media Group

In an increasingly tough media market in Northern Ireland, stations within the Northern Media Group have performed exceptionally well in the latest official industry listener figures.

In RAJAR results published yesterday for the second quarter of 2009, the group added an additional 11,000 listeners across its six stations.

The Q Network which includes Q102 in Londonderry, Q97 in Coleraine and Q101 in Omagh and Enniskillen, substantially increased its weekly reach from 75,000 to 84,000. Weekly reach is the amount of people who listen to a radio station over the course of a week and is one of the most important measurements for advertisers.

It was also good news for Five FM, one of the newest radio stations in Northern Ireland. It has been broadcasting for just three years and has consistently achieved an exceptionally high listenership within the transmission area. This quarter has seen the weekly reach figure increase from 20,000 to 23,000 giving 5FM a listener share of almost 16% in the market.

Six FM and Seven FM continue to perform well covering mid-Ulster and the Antrim and Ballymena areas respectively.

“This is a great result ,” said Robert Walshe, Chief Executive of Northern Media Group.

“Having 136,000 listeners each week puts Northern Media Group in an extremely competitive position. The increase in the figures is a testament to the abilities and talent of the entire NMG team and the capability to deliver good quality programming in each station area.”

“I would also like to thank the advertisers who have been a great support to Northern Media Group. I look forward to continuing to build established relationships and offering innovative advertising solutions.”

The group has also increased its total listening hours, each week, listeners will tune into a Northern Media Group station for an average of 9 hours.