JACK MEDIA DEMONSTRATES CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE ACROSS STATION PORTFOLIO DESPITE YEAR OF FLUX

 

• JACK Media continues to reach 320k listeners every week across its six-strong radio portfolio – almost 250k across National services and 85k across Oxfordshire;

• Flagship national service Union JACK radio remains strong with weekly reach of 143k;

• New national stations Union JACK Rock and Union JACK Dance indicate bold entrance and potential for growth, with combined weekly reach of 140k – despite launching during challenging pandemic backdrop;

• Local services including JACKfm remain solid – with figures yet to demonstrate actual impact of recent developments.

28 October 2021, Oxford: JACK Media, the independent owner of six radio stations including Union JACK radio and JACKfm, has demonstrated a solid and consistent performance across both its national and regional radio portfolio in the first RAJAR[1]  result received since May 2020. 

Despite a changing landscape brought about by the global pandemic and which has dramatically influenced the way in which radio is consumed, the Group’s existing services have maintained a strong and engaged listenership. 

Dick Stone, Group Content Manager for JACK Media, commented: “The last 12 months have seen a seismic shift in the way in which radio – and other media – is consumed, with lockdowns and home-working having dramatically impacted on our day-to-day lifestyles. For our existing services to remain so constant in this period of immense change is testament to the quality of their output and to our loyal listenership, who have continued to engage with our services throughout the pandemic.”

JACK Media has continued to grow in spite of the pandemic, and launched two new national services in December 2020, further building on the hugely popular Union JACK radio brand through the introduction of Union JACK Rock and Union JACK Dance – both of which bring together a clever mix of British comedy with their own genre of British music, offering a bespoke listener experience. Whilst today’s results demonstrate a positive start for the new services, they are not yet indicative of the full potential – though internal streaming figures suggest an exciting start for both stations.  

Stone continues: “The JACK Media portfolio has continued to grow during the pandemic, with the launch of two new national services, Union JACK Rock and Union JACK Dance; a new networked breakfast show fronted by Jim Rosenthal and Trevor Marshall; and the expansion of Oxfordshire’s JACK3 Chill onto FM as well as DAB, making it more accessible for a wider audience. Whilst today’s results aren’t able to demonstrate the full scale of this activity, we are aware from our own internal streaming figures of the positive impact that has been made and look forward to being able to demonstrate this further in the future, and with the support of full audience research provided by RAJAR.”  

JACK Media National has continued to demonstrate vast support of the British comedy industry throughout the pandemic, most recently launching a live nationwide series of comedy nights starring a wealth of household-name and up-and-coming talent. The Group also continues to support Leicester Comedy Festival and to invest in original comedy-led programming content, which has featured some of the nation’s funniest people, from Ed Byrne, Omid Djalili, Basil Brush and Marcus Brigstocke, to Jared Christmas, Brian Blessed, Josie Long and Shappi Khorsandi. 

Locally, in addition to the launch of the new breakfast show, the portfolio has benefitted from the launch of its first dedicated drivetime show, fronted by Adam English. The Group also continues to bolster its local credentials, delivering local radio that is genuinely local and supporting initiatives across Oxfordshire, including partnerships with Twin Town Challenge, Oxford City FC and Ronald McDonald House Charities.