Spotify is buying The Ringer plus the RAJAR Q4 2019 headlines
Feb 2020 Radio News
Digital Audio story of the week
Spotify is buying The Ringer to boost its sports podcast content
Sports is one of the most popular topics in podcasts, and Spotify doubled down on its podcast strategy with a big acquisition to grow its sports coverage: it announced that it is buying The Ringer, the popular network of podcasts created and run by broadcaster Bill Simmons, with 30 sports and other podcasts in its mix and some 100 million downloads per month. Spotify today has 700,000 podcasts in its catalog and earlier today noted that the business grew 200 percent in the last quarter.
Industry News stories
RAJAR Q4 2019: Commercial Digital Stations Appeal To More Than Just Younger Audiences
2019 demonstrates all listeners embracing digital, with mature audiences posting strong digital listening. 62% of Commercial Radio listening now comes from digital devices, boosting digital-only stations that appeal to mature audiences such as Jazz, talkRADIO and Virgin Radio, all of which have posted impressive results. These increases indicate that digital commercial stations cater to more than just younger audiences. Additionally, today’s Rajar results mirror the latest 2019 Winter Midas report showing DAB listening is strongest with 55+ adults.
Alex Lester joins Greatest Hits Radio for overnights
Former BBC Radio 2 presenter Alex Lester is joining Bauer to host the weekday overnight show on Greatest Hits Radio.
Alex will continue his BBC Local Radio commitments in the West Midlands, but sees a return to ‘the best time of the day show’ for Alex since he left Radio 2 overnights in 2017.
JACK2 to swap with JACK3 on 107.9 in Oxford
Ofcom has approved a Format change request which will see JACK 3 replace JACK 2 on 107.9FM in Oxford.
JACK 2, which currently plays a mix of new and recent chart music for 15-29 years olds, will swap with ‘JACK 3’ playing ‘easy hits for the over 50s.’
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