Wireless Group cuts losses

KELVIN MacKenzie, chief executive of The Wireless Group, is so pleased with early results from a new audience research system that he is testing it in the north of the country after a successful run in the Slough, Maidenhead and Windsor region.

Using a Swiss-made watch that digitally records every radio station the wearer listens to over a week against the official Rajar method of filling in a weekly diary, MacKenzie's talk-SPORT appeared to quadruple its audience.

Today he revealed the first real signs of an upturn in advertising demand at talkSPORT with April sales up by 9%. He is forecasting a 10% rise in June thanks to the World Cup. One of its biggest advertisers is pasties maker Ginster which describes itself as the unofficial meat pie of the World Cup.

First-half losses dropped from £34.3m to £10.1m on turnover up by 6% at £31.1m. Having sold Scot FM and Wave FM for £43.5m Wireless Group has slashed its debt to £1m and has bank facilities of £12.5m.