By Jess Jones
On its 50th anniversary, commercial radio is thriving, but the chief of a leading UK radio station has said it must stay on its toes if it wants to remain successful for another half a century.
“The future of commercial radio should be continuously exploring new avenues and embracing creative approaches so we remain a dynamic and forward-thinking medium,” Tom Cheal, senior managing editor at LBC, told City A.M.
With an election looming, giving listeners access to those in power is “a massive focus” in the nearer future for the station, under the ownership of British media company Global since 2007.
The commercial radio industry as a whole is thriving, with 39m weekly listeners, a 54.5 per cent share of listening and record revenues of £740m in 2022, according to recent figures from RAJAR, the UK’s official radio body.
LBC made history as the first station to hit the airwaves on 8 October 1973, originally only a London station.
It later expanded nationwide in 2014, establishing the highest share in London’s competitive commercial London marketplace.
In going national, Cheal said, the challenge was “to balance the audience expectations of a station rooted in London for four decades with broadening our appeal across the UK”.
But callers helped to give “invaluable insight” into the nation’s thoughts and feelings.
“If you were listening to LBC in 2016, the Brexit vote wouldn’t have come as a surprise. Nor would the election of President Trump,” said Cheal.
Even LBC, with over 3m weekly listeners – its highest since going national – faces tough competition as a glut of news and entertainment sources vie for national attention.
Tiktok, for example, was recognised as the UK’s fastest-growing source of news for two consecutive years in Ofcom’s annual news consumption report. It recently outpaced BBC Radio 1 and Channel 5 in popularity for the first time.
“The explosion in digital media means there’s more competition than ever for audience attention,” Cheal said.
However, he sees Tiktok as a ‘new avenue’ and a natural fit for LBC’s content, with the station boasting over 245,000 followers on the platform, where it posts daily video clips from its shows.
“Thankfully, interactivity has always been part of LBC’s DNA and we’ve doubled down on finding new ways for our audiences to join the conversation and directly engage with our presenters.”
