RAJAR
Encyclopedia
RAJAR was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement
system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom
. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC
) and the RadioCentre (Commercial Radio's trade body). Prior to this, the BBC and RadioCentre's predecessor (The CRCA) carried out their own measurements independently.
The methodology is based on a paper diary, which is filled in on a quarter-hour basis for one week by a representative sample. In a year, around 130,000 people complete a RAJAR diary. The research itself is carried out by contractors, currently Ipsos MORI
.
There has been controversy over the collection methods, with the former owner of TalkSport
, Kelvin MacKenzie
, complaining that the diary method consistently under-reported his station's audience. The High Court threw out his lawsuit against RAJAR - the judge dismissing the central plank of his case as "impossible to see".
RAJAR has conducted extensive testing of electronic devices that capture listening, either by picking up encoded signals within station transmissions or by matching captured audio against a database of all transmissions. This would allow measurement to capture both 'conscious' and 'unconscious' listening and would theoretically end listeners attributing their listening to the wrong station. However, RAJAR was not convinced that the devices and the method were ready for use on the main survey and a new two-year contract using diaries was awarded to Ipsos MORI in May 2006, to begin in 2007.
In 2007 there was joint venture with BARB
which involved the establishment of an electronic measurement panel to further test the use of Arbitron
's 'Portable People Meter' to capture radio listening and TV viewing. Details of this pilot are not currently clear.
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
) and the RadioCentre (Commercial Radio's trade body). Prior to this, the BBC and RadioCentre's predecessor (The CRCA) carried out their own measurements independently.
The methodology is based on a paper diary, which is filled in on a quarter-hour basis for one week by a representative sample. In a year, around 130,000 people complete a RAJAR diary. The research itself is carried out by contractors, currently Ipsos MORI
MORI
Ipsos MORI is the second largest market research organisation in the United Kingdom, formed by a merger of Ipsos UK and MORI, two of the Britain's leading survey companies in October 2005...
.
There has been controversy over the collection methods, with the former owner of TalkSport
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
, Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
, complaining that the diary method consistently under-reported his station's audience. The High Court threw out his lawsuit against RAJAR - the judge dismissing the central plank of his case as "impossible to see".
RAJAR has conducted extensive testing of electronic devices that capture listening, either by picking up encoded signals within station transmissions or by matching captured audio against a database of all transmissions. This would allow measurement to capture both 'conscious' and 'unconscious' listening and would theoretically end listeners attributing their listening to the wrong station. However, RAJAR was not convinced that the devices and the method were ready for use on the main survey and a new two-year contract using diaries was awarded to Ipsos MORI in May 2006, to begin in 2007.
In 2007 there was joint venture with BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
which involved the establishment of an electronic measurement panel to further test the use of Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
's 'Portable People Meter' to capture radio listening and TV viewing. Details of this pilot are not currently clear.