Radio Plymouth - Ofcom Licensing

RADIO PLYMOUTH
Radio Plymouth’s first RSL in August 2003 achieved an adult (15+) weekly reach of 18%. Amongst
the primary target market of 25 to 54 year-olds, the weekly reach was 21%, rising to 23% of 35-54
year olds. Whilst we are naturally cautious about these figures, we did do a lot of marketing for this
RSL and also received a considerable amount of editorial in the local press. The RSLs also focused
around a key national event taking place in the city, the British Firework Championships.
People seemed to like what they heard. Nine out of ten (88%) of listeners rated the local content
either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
News and information was rated either ‘very good’ or ‘good’ by 87% of respondents, with similarly
high scores of 84% for satisfaction with the music.
Would they listen if Radio Plymouth were permanently on the dial? That will be the acid test for any
new radio service, of course. Happily, our research shows they will. More than four out of five (83%)
of respondents would tune to Radio Plymouth if we are awarded the licence – even more of our core
target of 35 to 54 year-olds. More than nine out of ten (91%) of these listeners want to tune back to
us, claiming they are either ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to listen.
d) Main quantitative in-home telephone survey (sample: 760)
We wanted to support RAJAR’s data with an understanding of what happens as people move
through their “listening lifecycle”. In a city with restricted choice, we believe that right now such a
lifecycle exists. Yet it need not be that way.
Plymouth Sound has the city’s highest weekly reach, but this achievement belies some significant
issues. The station’s audience is heavily skewed towards younger listeners.
Profile comparisons:
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Population % 16.7 12.9 17.5 16.1 15.7 21.0
Audience % 26.7 17.7 25.7 15.5 5.1 9.3
(Source: RAJAR/Ipsos-RSL)
As listeners get older, they soon grow out of Plymouth Sound. From a massive 61% of young men
15-24, the figure drops to 43% for 25-44, before dropping to just 31% among 45-54s. More women
stay with Plymouth Sound through their middle years: More than half of women 35-44 (58%) and
one-third (35%) aged 45-54 listen. These figures illustrate particular disaffection among men.
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