RAJAR Dismisses Wireless Group Claims As Ludicrous
RAJAR has lashed out at claims made by Wireless Group chairman, Kelvin MacKenzie, that its electronic measurement tests were “fatally flawed” and has dismissed the accusations as “ludicrous”.
RAJAR was responding to legal action from the talkSPORT boss demanding £66 million in damages for advertising revenue he claims has been lost as a result of the research company’s decision not to endorse the electronic measurement of radio audiences (see MacKenzie To Claim £66 Million In Damages From RAJAR).
Sally de la Bedoyere, RAJAR’s recently appointed managing director, insisted she would “vigorously” contest the legal proceedings and claimed accusations made by the outspoken former Sun editor were “without merit”.
She said: “Leading counsel advise that it is highly likely that the claim will be struck out before it comes to trial. It is not surprising that the ludicrous accusations relating to financial losses are for the purposes of a sensational press release, and are not detailed in the proceedings.”
MacKenzie claims to have discovered the “scandalous” way in which RAJAR’s electronic tests were carried out. He also suggests there is nothing wrong with the current generation of electronic meters he currently endorses with research firm GfK (see New Study To Shake-Up Audience Measurement?).
However, RAJAR once again emphasised that its decision not to introduce electronic measurement was taken after fifteen months of exhaustive tests, which concluded that the current audio meters were not capable of delivering a radio audience measurement system up to its existing “gold standard” (see RAJAR To Invest In Further Electronic Measurement Trials).
De la Bedoyere said: “RAJAR has made it evidently clear that its decision – that it was not yet right to adopt meters without further testing – was taken after exhaustive tests in the studio and the field. It has also made it clear that there were considerable costs and non-disclosure agreements attached to these tests.”
She also said the decision to postpone the introduction of electronic measurement was unanimously passed by the members and the advisors of the RAJAR board, which includes the BBC, the Commercial Radio Companies Association, the Radio Advertising Bureau, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers.
MacKenzie has been complaining for more than three years that RAJAR’s diary system of audience measurement is weighted against speech stations and lesser-known broadcasters. However, the decision not to introduce electronic measurement has received the support of advertisers keen to maintain the integrity of the currency used to trade millions of pounds worth of radio audiences (see Agencies Support Rejection Of Electronic Measurement).
RAJAR: 020 7903 535 www.rajar.co.uk
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