Q Radio has hit a new record high for weekly listening figures, as the station’s popularity continues to grow.
New data from RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) shows that Q surpassed its previous record of 362,000 listeners, reaching a new peak of 370,000 weekly listeners that amounts to a year-on-year increase of 71.3%.
The radio industry’s official audience measurement survey also reported that over the past quarter, Q’s total listening hours have increased from 2,068,000 to 2,484,000 and average listening hours from 5.9 to 6.7.
This success has elevated the station’s market share to 8.2%, almost doubling from the previous year’s figure of 4.3%.
Within the stations target market of 25 to 44 year-olds, Q Radio is the only one of the six local stations to record increases in weekly reach, total hours and market share both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.
Sinead Cavanagh, deputy CEO of IntoMedia Group, Q Radio’s parent company, said: “These exceptional results highlight the importance of our ‘Big Personality, Big Reach’ proposition and reflect our continuous efforts in programming and promotion, which have significantly increased brand awareness, listening hours, and listener loyalty.”
Q Radio has retained its position as the number two commercial radio station for listeners, with the audience gap between Cool FM and Q Radio narrowing from 15 to 10 percentage points within the key target audience of 25 to 44 year-olds.
Last year saw Q Radio overtake Downtown Radio to claim the number two spot.
Popular shows on Q Radio include the weekday Breakfast with Connor, Andrew and Amy, and the Weekend Party with Gareth Woods.