MacKenzie Reissues Audience Figure Challenge To RAJAR

Outspoken Wireless Group chairman and chief executive, Kelvin MacKenzie, has reignited his war of words with radio audience measurement body RAJAR, challenging it to admit its current diary system of measuring radio listenership under-reports his company’s talkSPORT station’s audience.

Last year saw the radio boss and former Sun editor face RAJAR in the High Court over its measurements of talkSPORT’s listenership and, although the case was thrown out, MacKenzie clearly still has an axe to grind (see RAJAR Exonerated As Wireless Court Case Struck Out).

The Wireless Group claims that recent tests of electronic audience measurement systems by RAJAR show talkSPORT to have an audience of nearly three times that recorded by the current diary method at even the lowest reading, a finding which, according to TWG, RAJAR has chosen to keep secret.

A statement issued by TWG stated: “RAJAR has kept secret the results of their meter tests in 2002/3, which showed that talkSPORT had a weekly reach of 14% under the GfKs and 17% under the Arbitron PPMs – compared to just 5% under RAJAR’s diary system. The station’s share of listening also shot up under both electronic measurement systems.”

According to MacKenzie, RAJAR is “hiding behind agreements with meter manufacturers not to release figures from its test.” He said: “”I challenge RAJAR to deny these figures. This, after all, is what the whole argument is all about and these figures are theirs not ours; they’re from their own tests that they devised and that they commissioned, administered and oversaw.”

He added: “The fact is that talkSPORT is going great guns and RAJAR knows it, but they won’t admit it.”

According to the latest RAJAR data release, talkSPORT commands a weekly reach of just under 2 million, however, this is some way below the figure of 6.1 million recorded by GfK’s Broadcast Survey, conducted using electronic measurement.

Wireless Group: 020 7269 7180

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