Radio Two Loses More Listeners in Montreal, While All-Classical Station Gains

More evidence of the sad state of CBC and Radio Canada “cultural” services: the latest BBM Top-line Radio Report figures are out for listenership in Montreal, and the big winner is—surprise!—the all classical station.

The results are the first ones where two periods (September 10 to November 30, 2008 and December 1, 2008 to March 1, 2009) can be compared using a new metering system. No longer are selected listeners asked to keep diaries about what they listen to. Rather, the measurements are taken from devices which record what is playing nearby.

Radio Two’s share among Anglophone listeners dropped from 2.3 % to 2.2 % while the all classical Francophone station CJPX FM’s share rose from 3 % to 3.9%. The first period, you’ll remember, was that when Radio Two changed its programming substantially, gutting the classical content. Where are the new listerners? It looks like many of the old ones have switched over to the private classical station, Among Francophones, Espace Musique’s share rose slightly from 1.2 to 1.5 % while CJPX climbed from 4.3 to 5 %.

New statistics for Toronto, the other market where an all classical station competes with Radio Two, aren’t available yet. They will be tabulated by the diary method.