7DIG.L Regulatory News (7DIG)

5 May 2005 07:01

UBC Media Group PLC05 May 2005 5 May 2005 UBC reports latest listening figures UBC Media Group plc (UBC), the digital radio broadcaster and programme producer,is pleased to report that its digital radio services continue to build audienceas the consumer uptake of digital radio gathers pace. Oneword, which operates the national digital-only speech licence and in whichChannel Four Television recently acquired a 51% interest, has seen its audiencerise. The weekly reach of the station is now 121,000 (Q1, 2005), up 8% fromlast quarter (Q4 2004: 112,000) and 60% in the last year (Q1, 2004: 76,000) 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 area is considerably larger andtherefore brings the prospect of growth as digital penetration increases. The latest RAJAR report (Q1, 2005) shows that 30% (237,000) of CGDL's listenersare now hearing the station on digital, up from 25% last quarter (Q4, 2004:221,000). The number of listeners in the areas where Classic Gold is availabledigitally has increased by 7%. Listening to CGDL's analogue services is, as expected, in decline, with a 13%drop in weekly reach in the last quarter (Q4, 2004: 641,000. Q1 2005: 558,000).This means that, overall, CGDL's national UK audience has declined by 8% (Q4,2004: 862,000. Q1 2005: 795,000). Commenting on the RAJAR figures, Simon Cole, CEO of UBC said: "I'm pleased that the faith of our new partner in Oneword, Channel 4, has beenso quickly rewarded. Once again these figures show the pace of transition tothe digital future that UBC has built its business around." For further information, please contact: Simon Cole, CEO, UBC Media Group plc Tel: 020 7453 1600Tim Allan, 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 5thApril 2005, UBC announced that Channel Four Television (C4) and UBC completed anagreement for Channel 4 to acquire a 51% interest in Oneword Radio and both UBCand C4 look forward to working closely together to develop the station andcreate value from this important broadcasting asset. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange