Latest audience figures for the island’s radio stations show a marked drop in the most recent quarter for Manx Radio.
The figures come against a backdrop of falling audiences, not just for broadcast media but print media too, as the public have ever more varied means at their fingertips to access news, sport and music digitally.
Statistics from Rajar, the Radio Joint Audience Research body, showed Manx Radio had a reach of 58 per cent in the first three months of 2016, but in the second quarter ending in June this fell to 48 per cent. The ‘reach’ is the percentage of the population aged over 15 that tunes in for five or more minutes each week.
Figures for the same two quarters, ending in June 2016, show a 1 per cent increase for rivals 3FM.
The spring figures may seem surprising for Manx Radio, which receives a £875,000 subvention from the island’s government, as they cover the busy TT period when tens of thousands of visitors flock to the island, many tuning in to the live race commentary, as well as interviews, post race coverage and information on racing and road closures.
However, station director Anthony Pugh pointed out Manx Radio still had the biggest market share in the island and was usually in the top five across the British Isles.
He said: ‘It fluctuates every quarter and we don’t report on that or any other competitors’ figures. The total amount of listening to Manx Radio remains extremely high and the station still reaches eight out of 10 people in the Isle of Man every quarter.
‘In the 13 years that Manx Radio has been part of Rajar we have rarely been out of the top five in the British Isles and these figures will be there or there abouts out of around 350 radio stations. We are certainly the highest of any in the Isle of Man.’
He said they were more concerned with longer term trends rather than a quarterly variation. On the topic of TT coverage, he said much of this information was available digitally, and AM figures did not feature in Rajar statistics.
‘People don’t just listen via radio, but via the internet. For example on Senior Race Day we had over 60,000 people who made unique connections to our digital output, which includes anything like online phone apps and smart televisions. On the same day there were between 800,000 and 900,000 successful connections to our feeds, so I don’t think that would indicate that listening is down.’
Mr Pugh said in the same period BBC Radio 4 figures showed an increase in listeners in the island, perhaps following the ‘Brexit’ debate. In the course of a quarter, he said, Manx Radio still reached eight out of ten people.
Energy FM is not covered by Rajar.