Classical Stations
Here we go then, the classy end of the market, with a three way battle between the big guns… the BBC’s Radio 3, Global’s Classic FM and the more recent upstart from Bauer in 2019, Scala Radio, which has now become Magic Classical from September 2024.
Interesting to see that Global even adopt their usual comparatively small playlist policy to their Classical station, just playing the most popular pieces, (albeit about 1000 more than they do on most of their pop stations!).
The new kids on the block, Bauer’s Magic Classical (Scala), have definitely decided to park their tanks on the BBC Lawns and even beat Radio 3 on the number of distinct pieces played, even if they do tend to play more slightly shorter pieces, like Classic FM, and start off playing even MORE variety than Radio 3, though it does start to tail off slightly after about 10 days to 2 weeks, but it never drops as far as Classic FM which is bumping along the bottom after 3 weeks.
Analysis: 37 days, up to 05-01-2026
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 6153
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 5660
Variety factor for this station is : 91.9%
50% OF PLAYS is 2584 Songs (45.6% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 1559 MOST played songs (27.5% of the total)
or 2050 LEAST played songs (36.2% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 4d 2h 40m
10th most played song airs every: 7d 9h 36m
1559th most played song only played once
2584th most played song only played once
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 5653 (99.8%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
125 after 29 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 4682
..in 3 months: 13207, in 6 months: 23952
..in 9 months: 33845, in 12 months: 42410
Top 14 Most Played:
1 [9 plays] Trad. – I Saw Three Ships
2 [8 plays] Gustav Holst – In the Bleak Midwinter
3 [7 plays] John Gardner – Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
4= [6 plays] each for…
+ Adolphe Adam – O Holy Night
+ George Frideric Handel – For unto us a child is born (Messiah)
+ John Tavener – The Lamb
+ Maurice Ravel – Pavane pour une infante defunte
8= [5 plays] each for…
+ Cecile Chaminade – Le Noel des Oiseaux
+ Errollyn Wallen – Peace on earth
+ Irving Berlin – White Christmas
+ Joanna Marsh – In Winter’s House
+ Leopold Mozart – A musical sleigh ride
+ Morten Lauridsen – O Magnum Mysterium
+ Nigel Hess – A Christmas Overture
Analysis: 27 days, up to 05-01-2026
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 6499
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 1464
Variety factor for this station is : 22.5%
50% OF PLAYS is 178 Songs (12.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 86 MOST played songs (5.8% of the total)
or 1144 LEAST played songs (78.1% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 16h 12m
10th most played song airs every: 18h 30m
86th most played song airs every: 1d 19h 12m
178th most played song airs every: 2d 16h 48m
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 1131 (77.2%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
6 after 14 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 1493
..in 3 months: 2327, in 6 months: 3027
..in 9 months: 3559, in 12 months: 3970
Top 10 Most Played:
1 [40 plays] Anon – ‘Gabriel’s message’
2= [38 plays] each for…
+ Adolphe Adam – ‘O Holy Night’
+ William James Kirkpatrick – ‘Away in a Manger’
4= [37 plays] each for…
+ Anon – ‘Deck the hall with boughs of holly’
+ Anon – ‘God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen’
+ Anon – ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’
+ Anon – ‘Still, Still, Still’
+ Felix Mendelssohn – ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’
9 [36 plays] Franz Gruber – ‘Silent Night’
10 [35 plays] Henry John Gauntlett – ‘Once in Royal David’s City’
Analysis: 23 days, up to 05-01-2026
NUMBER OF PLAYS IDENTIFIED: 5863
Number of DIFFERENT Songs Played: 3644
Variety factor for this station is : 62.1%
50% OF PLAYS is 952 Songs (26.1% of the total)
A THIRD OF PLAYS represents:
The 463 MOST played songs (12.7% of the total)
or 1954 LEAST played songs (53.6% of the total)
Most played airs on average every: 1d 6h 40m
10th most played song airs every: 1d 22h
463rd most played song airs every: 11d 12h
952nd most played song airs every: 11d 12h
No. of songs with 5 or less plays: 3580 (98.2%)
Lowest Number of NEW SONGS on any day:
36 after 22 DAYS
Different songs played in 1 month: 4360
..in 3 months: 7631, in 6 months: 9559
..in 9 months: 10939, in 12 months: 11652
Top 12 Most Played:
1= [18 plays] each for…
+ Rebekah Reid – Rebekah Reid – Now You See
+ Richard Hayman Orchestra, Richard Hayman – Leopold Mozart – Sleigh Ride, 2nd Mvt
3 [17 plays] Central Band Of The Royal Air Force, Nigel Hess – Nigel Hess – A Christmas Overture
4= [14 plays] each for…
+ Anna Lapwood, The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College Cambridge – Harold Arlen – Over the Rainbow
+ Esther Abrami, Ycare – Leonard Cohen -Hallelujah
+ Gareth Malone’s Voices, Gareth Malone – Vince Clarke – Only You
+ LGT Young Soloists, Alexander Gilman, Alexander Gilman – Rachel Portman – Dolomites, Pale Mountains: Saslonch, 4th Mvt
8= [13 plays] each for…
+ Hayato Sumino – Hayato Sumino – Raindrop Postlude
+ Olivia Belli – Olivia Belli – Pax Athenae, 7th Mvt
10= [12 plays] each for…
+ Alexander Malofeev – Alexander Malofeev – Mazurka in C Minor
+ Anna Phoebe – Anna Phoebe – Between Worlds
+ Kanneh-Masons – Samuel Coleridge Taylor – Deep River
We’re monitoring all the most important UK radio stations 24-7, so if you’d like the full “chapter and verse” on what they’ve all been playing, and the full month most played songs lists, then we can provide them – We’ve even got some data going back to 2008!! Our charges start at just £12 (exc VAT) for one station, so that’s a FULL LISTING of every song or classical piece a station has played, with dates and times, plus a stats package with the full “most played” chart for the month listing EVERY song they’ve played and how many times, ranked from most played to least… so if they’ve played 3174 different songs, that’ll be a 1 to 3174 chart!
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