RAJAR: Sunrise Radio leads in London; Lyca Radio listening hours up

Sunrise Radio remained the leading Asian radio station in Greater London, while rival, Lyca Radio 1458 was up in listening hours, according to the first RAJAR data in 18 months.

The period included listening figures for the extended period ending 19th September (including data collected from April to June 2021) for BBC Radio and Commercial Radio.

Sunrise Radio’s delivered a weekly reach of 175,000, with listening hours increasing hours at 4.1 hours. The station’s share stayed at 0.4%. Please note, data is being compared loosely due to the use of a modified survey methodology.

Sunrise Radio Managing Director Tony Lit MBE, said, “It’s been the most challenging of times over the past 18 months due to the pandemic but together we’ve all been working through these difficult times. Now with the release of RAJAR Q3 2021 this morning I would just like to say that the team and I are delighted with these latest set of results for both our London & National service. Sunrise has maintained its lead in London with a margin of over 100 per cent in weekly audience reach compared to our nearest Asian commercial radio competitor, and nationally we continue to grow as the UK’s only Asian commercial radio station. We have measured the pulse and the expectations of our audience consistently for 32 consecutive years maintaining the Number 1 position as the leading Asian commercial radio station, I’m sure that’s an unrivalled record in UK commercial radio. I would just like to finish with a ‘big thank’ to our listeners, our commercial partners and my wonderful team, you’re the best and you’ve just proved it again!!”

In comparison, Lyca Radio 1458 was at 86,000, with listening hours jumping from 4.2 hours to 4.6 hours, which means the station is being listened to for longer. Its share was at 0.2%

Lyca Group’s second station Dilse Radio (now known as Lyca Gold 1035), raked in a reach of 38,000. Its listening hours dropped to 4.7 hours. This data excludes data of Lyca Gold 1035.

Raj Baddhan, CEO of Lyca Media said, “This set of data was always going to be challenging. Not only have audience’s listening habits have changed but this was also the period we introduced the new sound of Lyca Radio. Like any new product, it’ll take time for listeners to adjust to our new line-up of shows and presenters. We’ve gone back to basics by bringing listeners hit Bollywood music, packaged stylishly and contemporarily. We’re delighted our listeners are tuning into Lyca Radio longer than before and hope they continue to enjoy the festive content. I also want to pay tribute to my team for doing a commendable job during the peak of the pandemic for our listeners. For some, radio was the only medium they could turn to when the country was under lockdown.”

Also in London, Panjab Radio was up from 75,000 to 78,000, while its share dropped from 0.2% to 0.1%. Its sister station, Asian FX lost 10,000 listeners with its reach now at 26,000 from 36,000 previously.

On the national front, BBC Asian Network was at 533,000 but remained the UK’s most listened to Asian radio station. On the commercial front, Sunrise Radio was ahead with a rise in weekly reach to 387,000 – its listening hours were at 4.7 hours.

Ahmed Hussain, Head of BBC Asian Network, says, “It’s fantastic to see an increase in engagement across Asian Network, with over half a million radio listeners and a further 2.1 million engaging with our content across social media and YouTube. We also continue to increase our numbers on-demand via BBC Sounds as our new schedule settles in. We are proud to provide such an important platform for our diverse audience, championing British Asian culture even through the most challenging times.”

Please note that all RAJAR listening figures from Q3 2021 have been calculated using a modified survey methodology and this should be considered when making comparisons against historical data.

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