RAJAR stands for RAdio Joint Audience Research and is the company jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Company and the Radio Centre, the trade body representing the Commercial Radio Industry in the UK. Any decision made by the company requires the equal agreement of both.
One of these decisions was to change the way radio audience listening figures for the 3rd quarter of 2011, (27th June - 18th September) were to be collected from previous surveys. This follows some criticism that the previously used method of Paper Diary Completion by respondents was, in an age of rapidly changing technology, out of date.
The Way Rajar Works.
Rajar was established in 1992 to jointly present and represent audience listening figures for both the publicly funded BBC, and the commercial sector that makes all its operating revenue commercially. Listening figures for the BBC are as important as they are for any public sector broadcaster to determine perhaps, how relevant their programming is at least in terms of listener mass. To the commercial sector, these figures are critical in determining the share of revenue each station can charge for radio advertising and for other revenue activities. The methodology and recent changes for RAJAR include:
- A new on-line listening diary
- A new digital personal interviewing aide
- The survey covers over 100,000 respondents annually
- Listeners’ habits for some 320 individual stations
- Results include details of listening by half-hour periods
- Individual stations’ reach and percentage reach is detailed
- Individual stations’ average hours per listener and total hours
Rajar note that this diary survey methodology in some way is used in over 80% of the world’s radio markets.
Rajar Data Quarter 3 2011
Released to the participating stations first on Wednesday the 24th October 2011 and then on general release the following day, such data is analysed carefully by the industry. On the day of release, and as the stations have had a chance to look in more detail overnight, expect a wave of press releases and comment by all the interested parties. Rajar itself offered the following highlights:
- Over 90% of the population tune into radio in the UK every week. (47.1 million Adults 15+)
- Up by over a third of a million listeners (375,000 listeners) on the same period for the previous year
- Down on the previous high of 47.6 million last quarter (Q2, 2011).
- The total number of radio listening hours has also increased year on year by 2%.
- Digital receiver listening was 28.2% of all radio listening
- Internet listening hours up 15.4% quarter on quarter
- Access via a mobile phone up 24.2% year on year.
The PR opportunities for successes and internal reorganisations that sometimes result from the data release makes the number of listeners listening to particular radio stations and radio groups one of the important days in the radio calendar within the UK radio industry.
The Effect of Rajar Figures on the Industry.
All the major players and independents, commentators and industry insiders on ‘Rajar Day,’ will be busy analysing; issuing press releases and tweeting, blogging and commenting. The industry press picked out some of the following highlights:
“Global Radio’s Capital FM has once again taken the top slot in London” (Brand Republic)
“BBC Radio 2 wears the crown of the most listened to radio station yet again after an increase in reach” (Media Tel)
“Bauer Media, which owns Magic 105.4 (London) and Kiss FM (National) among others, announced a reach to 13.8m listeners in the UK, a year-on-year increase of 800,000 listeners across its network.” (The Drum)
“Absolute 80s is the number one digital commercial radio station. Its reach is up 80% in the last 12 months, with the enlarged audience size of 1.018m” (Radio Today.co.uk)
And the UK national newspaper, The Guardian, ran coverage under the headline, “Look at the Rajar trends, not the headlines.”
Coverage in the media sections of the press, both on-line and printed, as well as in general news bulletins occurs on release of the Rajar data. The success or otherwise of your favorite radio station and particular radio personality is “News,” both for the industry and its listeners.
Q4 2011 listenership date covering the period 19th September - 18th December, will be released to the station on the 1st February 2012 and then on public data release on Thursday the 2nd February 2012.
Source: http://www.rajar.co.uk/
Dan McCurdy - Dan McCurdy is a freelance writer producer creative and lecturer. Dan is one of the UK's most experienced radio writers and producers. ...
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