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±«Óãtv Radio Wales' listening figures are at their highest level in four years according to the latest RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd.) figures published today.

The station has seen an increase of 37,000 listeners compared to six months ago and 92,000 higher than the same period last year, with the weekly reach now 486,000. ±«Óãtv Radio Cymru has also seen an increase in listeners, 20,000 compared to a year ago, with the weekly reach now 153,000.

With both Radio Wales and Radio Cymru nominated in the Radio Station of the Year category at the Celtic Media Festival (13-15 April 2011), the next few months will see them raise their profile once again in Wales.

Steve Austins, Radio Wales Editor said:

"The results are a genuine tribute to the team at the station who work hard to reflect contemporary Welsh life in a compelling way every day. Our aim is to build on these results, keeping in tune with our listeners, striving to deliver compelling, creative and riveting radio that matters now to the people of Wales.

"Today sees our listeners tune in to the station for 10 hours each week, which is an increase from last quarter. These are very successful results, but as ever we will continue to target new listeners throughout Wales. With the addition of some excellent presenters, changes to the schedule over the last five months and positive new programming, we are strengthening Radio Wales' position as the modern national broadcaster for Wales," said Steve.

Also reacting to the news, Sian Gwynedd, Radio Cymru Editor said:

"The past few months have been very busy for Radio Cymru with lots of significant changes on air and we are extremely pleased that a high number of Welsh speakers still choose to listen to Radio Cymru rather than any other radio station. We are consistently reviewing the service and our production teams work extremely hard to ensure that we provide a variety of high quality programmes which are relevant to audiences across Wales."

Both stations offer a wide range of programmes, hosted by some of the nation's most popular presenters, reflecting the issues, events, culture and interests of the people of Wales.

CM5