7DIG.L Regulatory News (7DIG)

11 May 2006 07:02

UBC Media Group PLC11 May 2006 11 May 2006 UBC reports latest listening figures UBC Media Group plc (LN.UBC), the digital radio broadcaster and programmeproducer, is pleased to report audience gains for Oneword Radio, the nationaldigital station which it owns jointly with Channel 4 Television. Oneword has shown an increase in both its reach and listening hours in thelatest official RAJAR audience figures published today, compared with the sameperiod a year ago. Its weekly reach in the latest RAJAR report (Q1 2006) has grown by 9% to 132,000(Q1 2005: 121,000), with total listening hours up 4% (Q1 2005: 393,000, Q1 2006:408,000). (Source - Rajar/Ipsos MORI.) In the same report, the 'Classic Gold Digital' (CGDL) network of radio stationsrecorded a 4% year-on-year increase in the average amount of time spentlistening to the network across the UK. (Q1 2005: 9.3 hours per listener perweek, Q1 2006: 9.7 hours per listener per week.) However CGDL continues to face challenges in the areas where it broadcasts onthe analogue Medium Wave frequencies, where its reach declined to just underhalf a million listeners. (Q1 2005: 558,000, Q1 2006: 485,000.) The CGDL network as a whole is now recording 7,069,000 total hours of listeningper week. (Q1 2005: 7,386,000.) Commenting on the RAJAR figures, Simon Cole, Chief Executive of UBC said: "I'm delighted by the latest figures for Oneword Radio, which has seensignificant benefits from the increased support of our partners at Channel Four.In recent weeks Oneword has introduced an exciting new weekend schedule, whichis the result of increased investment in the station, and we expect to see thisreflected in further audience boosts in due course. As expected, analogue listening to CGDL is in decline. This is still a period ofmajor change for listening to stations such as CGDL, which have historicallybeen reliant on the poorer quality transmission signal of Medium Wave. For CGDL,the future lies clearly in the digital world, and the process of transferringour audience to digital platforms continues." - ends - For further information, please contact: Simon Cole, CEO, UBC Media Group plc: Tel: 020 7453 1600 Katie Thompson, Portland: Tel: 020 7404 5344 About UBC Media Group UBC is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. The Group is themarket leader in the supply of audio content and broadcast data software to theradio industry in the UK. In addition to the entertainment, traffic and traveland national news services provided to commercial radio, the Group is thelargest independent producer of radio programming for the BBC and the UK'sleading supplier of digital radio scrolling text and EPG software. The Groupalso has significant digital radio broadcasting interests including Classic GoldDigital, the nationally distributed classic hits format. It is also part of theMXR Regional Multiplex consortium. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange