Cornwall's 105 to 107 Itchy FM - Ofcom Licensing

Interest in New Radio Station:
When asked how often they would listen to this new Dance/Indie Rock station, listeners aged 15 to 34
demonstrated a significantly larger appetite for the station than those aged 35 to 39. Among 15 to 34s,
59% would either listen to the station "a lot" or would make it their "favourite" station. Among those
aged 35 to 39, this number is only 50%. The percentage that would "rarely listen" was also higher
among the older group - 19% - as compared to 12% for the 18 to 34s.
Market Gap
The data clearly shows a gap in the market: When combining the low station satisfaction among
Radio 1 and Pirate listeners with their enormous listening base, the need for additional radio choices for
this target group becomes clear. The statistics clearly show a sizeable number of listeners listening
because there are no better options currently unavailable to them, NOT because they love their current
options.
Whilst the majority of BBC Radio 1’s listeners are least
satisfied, Pirate FM’s appeal does reveal an element of
compromise; 37% of respondents state that Pirate FM
plays a lot of “bad songs combined with some good
ones”. We cross-tabbed this response against Pirate FM
listeners and their responses to interest in local
information, such as news, travel information and details
about events. Interestingly, around 9 out of 10 Pirate FM
listeners regard local information on the radio as
important. This does suggest that that existing Pirate FM
listeners listen to identify with a local radio station, but
are compromised by a music policy which is musically
targeting an older demographic.
Those most interested in a dance / indie radio station were also those who are most dissatisfied with
existing radio choices, indicating that the market gap for this age profile is most suited to Itchy FM’s
format.
When asked how much they might listen to a new radio station which played Dance / Indie Rock, 57%
of all respondents said they would listen a lot or make the radio station their favourite. Males are slightly
more likely to listen heavily, especially in the 15-24 age group.
57% of respondents who regard Radio 1 as their favourite station were likely to listen a lot, with a
further 11% saying that the new station would become their P1 station. Of the 58% of Pirate FM P1
listeners who would listen a lot, 11% stated the new station was likely to become their P1 station.
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