Singapore’s Kiss 92 has almost tripled its audience, according to the recent Nielsen Radio Diary Survey.

The female-focused station attracted around 419,000 listeners per week between March 25 and May 19, up from 151,000 shortly after the station launched in September last year.

The station is now ranked as third most listened to English station in the city state.

Traditionally, state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp’s network of six English stations has dominated the radio landscape. So how has a new player been able to muscle its way into an already crowded market and perform so well?

Jamie R. Meldrum, Senior Programme Director with Kiss 92′s parent company SPH Unionworks, told us the reasons for the station’s amazing success.

Asia Radio Today: “How would you would you explain the difference between Kiss 92 and your other English competitors?”

Jamie R. Meldrum: “The major difference is that Kiss is more tightly focused on its target audience. Kiss 92 is the first station in Singapore to target not just age, but also gender. The other stations have always been programmed much more broadly.”

Asia Radio Today: “Would you say that your morning show or your music policy has been responsible for your success?”

Jamie R. Meldrum: ”I think it has been a combination of the two. The music certainly has been a talking point in the market, but there have been plenty of converts to Maddy, Jason & Arnold in the Morning too, so without both I don’t think we would have enjoyed as much success as we’ve seen so quickly.”

Asia Radio Today: “How did you go about picking the on air talent for Kiss 92. The existing profile of the jocks seemed to be important.”

Jamie R. Meldrum: “Absolutely, I looked for the jocks I thought fit the Kiss brand image best.”

Asia Radio Today: “How have your competitors responded to Kiss entering the market?”

Jamie R. Meldrum: “The reactions we’ve seen so far appear to be mostly behind the scenes, although there have been some on-air changes at Gold 90.5 this year. But that station is targeting a different audience segment anyway so at this point it is still a case of wait & see.”

Asia Radio Today: “Any big promotions on air or planned shortly?”

Jamie R. Meldrum: “We’re giving away a very hot little Opel GTC over the next two weeks, beyond that I’m afraid I cannot divulge.