4th Aug 2005 07:02
UBC Media Group PLC04 August 2005 4 August 2005 UBC reports latest listening figures UBC Media Group plc (UBC), the digital radio broadcaster and programme producer,is pleased to report that the rapid consumer uptake of digital radio is leadingto strong audience growth at its national digital radio station, Oneword. Oneword, which operates the only national commercial digital speech licence andin which Channel Four Television recently acquired a 51% interest, has seen itsaudience rise by 60% in the past 12 months and 16% in the last quarter alone.The weekly reach of the station is now 140,000 (Q1, 2005 121,000; Q2 2004,87,000). Moreover, individuals are spending longer listening to the station. Oneword's 'Total Hours', the figure by which advertising revenue is determined, are up by94% in the last year to 562,000 (Q2 2004 289,000) and 43% in the previousquarter (Q1 2005 393,000). Ofcom recently announced its intention to amend the rules governing the crosspromotion of radio services by commercial television stations. UBC welcomesthis development, which will allow Channel Four to promote Oneword, and expectsit to have a positive impact on the station as digital uptake accelerates. UBC's network of Classic Gold Digital radio stations ("CGDL") broadcasts on bothanalogue AM frequencies and on digital platforms. UBC's aim is to migratelistening onto the digital platforms where the broadcast quality issignificantly better. The digital transmission footprint is considerably largerthan CGDL's analogue area and therefore brings the prospect of growth as digitalpenetration increases. The latest RAJAR report (Q2, 2005) shows that 31% (233,000) of CGDL's audienceare now listening to the station on digital, up from 30% last quarter (Q1, 2005:237,000). However, listening to CGDL's analogue services is, as expected, in decline, witha 5% drop in weekly reach in the last quarter (Q1, 2005: 558,000, Q2 2005:529,000). This means that, overall, CGDL's national UK audience has declined by4% (Q1, 2005: 795,000. Q2 2005: 762,000) Commenting on the RAJAR figures, Simon Cole, CEO of UBC said: "The transition to digital is gathering pace. The growth in the audience atOneword is stunning and this is before we see the full effects of our newpartnership with Channel Four Television. At Classic Gold, the transition todigital is more complex, with declines in analogue listening expected over timeto be replaced by new digital listening." For further information, please contact: Simon Cole, CEO, UBC Media Group plc Tel: 020 7453 1600Andrew Sholl, Portland Tel: 020 7404 5344 Notes to Editors About UBC Media Group UBC Media Group plc is a UK public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange'sAIM market. The Group is a market leader in the supply of content to the radio,Internet and digital television industries in the UK. In addition to theentertainment and traffic and travel news services provided to commercial radio,the Group is the largest independent producer of radio programming for the BBC. About Classic Gold Digital Limited (CGDL) In September 2000 UBC Media Group acquired the Classic Gold digital radio and AMformat, including all the associated intellectual property rights and certainbroadcast licences, from GWR Group plc. The purchase was made through a newlyformed company, Classic Gold Digital Limited, which is owned 80% by UBC MediaGroup and 20% by GWR Group plc. The Classic Gold format, one of the mostsuccessful 'gold' radio formats in the UK, has been developed by GWR over thelast ten years to appeal primarily to an audience aged between 30 and 45 and isbroadcast on the entire GWR AM network. Classic Gold Digital broadcasts on 18 AM stations, plus a network of digitalmultiplexes, which gives the format a potential audience of 29 million people.GWR Group is responsible for advertising sales and Classic Gold Digital receivesa payment for its programming from GWR, directly related to the number oflistening hours as measured by RAJAR. About Oneword Radio Oneword Radio broadcasts a quality speech service on the national multiplex,Digital One and was the Sony Radio digital station of the year for 2003. On 27thAugust 2004 UBC announced a development agreement with Channel 4 Television toexplore transmission and programming issues. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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