RAJAR Defends Diary System In Light Of Rival Research

RAJAR has defended its diary system of radio audience measurement, following news that Kelvin MacKenzie’s The Wireless Group has commissioned a rival three-year survey using electronic measurement devices (see MacKenzie Commissions Rival Radio Audience Survey).

RAJAR’s managing director, Jane O’Hara, reiterated her faith in the current system, which has provided the currency for trading radio audiences for decades, saying: “It does a stirling job for the RAJAR survey, which is a large and complex one.”

O’Hara went on to emphasise RAJAR’s commitment to the testing and assessment of electronic audio-meters and pointed out that “exhaustive” trials of the Arbitron Portable People Meter and the Swiss developed Radiocontrol wristwatch are nearing completion (see RAJAR Enters Third Phase Of Audiometer Testing).

She said: “At no time has the industry been holding back on the introduction of audio-meters. It simply and sensibly wants to know exactly what audio-meters can and can’t do, whether they provide a great form of accuracy or a different form of inaccuracy and whether they are affordable.”

O’Hara made no reference to Mackenzie’s intention to conduct a rival national survey of radio listening. However, she issued a note of caution to the industry, saying: “It is important to remember that audio-meters have not yet been introduced into any major market-place and this is for a very good reason – they are still being tested to see exactly what they can do.”

RAJAR has been testing electronic audio-meters since 1996 and is at pains to ensure that any new system is capable of monitoring all aspects of the UK radio market, including analogue, digital and internet radio listening.

RAJAR: 020 7903 5350 www.rajar.co.uk

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