Free Radio attracts 8pc more listeners

Free Radio FM, which includes the former Beacon Radio in Wolverhampton, has increased its number of listeners by eight per cent in a year.

Listeners to Free, which also has stations in Birmingham and Worcestershire, have risen to 700,000 according to figures from radio audience measurement body Rajar.

The market share for the FM stations which are part of Orion Media has risen by a tenth to 7.4 per cent.

Orion Media's chief executive, Phil Riley, said: "This is a solid start for the new brand, after this most significant of changes from their old names with their heritage of decades.

"Given our marketing campaign only began in the final seven weeks of this 25-week survey, we are confident in our strategy."

He said audience loyalty, which is the time spent listening, had risen to 5.6m, the highest figure since Orion's West Midlands FM figures were first published two years ago.

The station changed its name in April.

Heart's market share in the region was 8.4 per cent with 755,000 listeners. Smooth was 6.2 per cent and 378,000 listeners.

Signal's stations in Staffordshire totalled 299,000 listeners, while the figures for BBC Radio WM were 225,000, or 5.2 per cent of the market share.

The Rajar figures for April to June found that on average 89 per cent of the population tune into radio each week with 21.8 million adults having access to a DAB receiver – up eight per cent from this time last year.

The national figure for listeners was 46.8m with all BBC listeners at 34.4m and all commercial 33.1m. The overall number of listeners was down 800,000 on the record-breaking same three months in 2011.

Radio Two topped the BBC station with 14.4m with Radio One in second place with 11.2m.