Chrysalis slips as listeners turn off

SHARES in Chrysalis slipped close to two-year lows today, after latest radio listening statistics revealed a summer slump in the audience for its flagship Heart station.

Figures from Rajar showed sharp gains for BBC radio stations in the July to September quarter when, in London alone, it increased its share of the market by three percentage points to 54.7% at the expense of commercial radio.

Heart's audience dived by 10% or 349,000 to 2.9m from the second quarter of the year.

Chrysalis, whose shares fell 6 3/4p to 178p, called the results 'disappointing', and while it challenged Rajar's calculations it admitted Heart is in the middle of a 'brand refresh' and heavy advertising campaign to restore its fortunes.

GWR's Classic FM lost 342,000 listeners in the quarter, down more than 5% at 6.1m. Scottish Media Group's Virgin station has lost more than quarter of a million listeners over the last year to 2.6m.

Capital's 2.1m was an improvement on the second quarter but down on a year ago.

Among the winners were Talksport which posted year-on-year gains of more than a quarter of a million to 2.1m.