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RAJARS Q2 2012: A round up

2012-08-02T10:10:30+00:00

Broadcasting House, 2012

The RAJARs, the listening figures for UK radio, covering the second quarter of this year are out. Here's the �� RAJARs press release ("�� stations stand out in strong quarter for digital radio").

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is jointly owned by the �� and commercial radio trade body the Radio Centre. Participating listeners are asked to record their radio listening in quarter-hour time blocks for one week.

The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).

RAJAR related links:

�� News Online: �� digital stations 1Xtra and Radio 4 Extra set record
At a glance: Rajar Smilies
Adam Bowie's blog: RAJAR Q2 2012
James Cridland: RAJAR Q2/2012 - Britain's getting bigger, but is radio shrinking?
The Independent: Outgoing Chris Moyles loses listeners from Radio 1 breakfast show
Radio Today: Around the groups and brands in Q2, 2012
Paul Easton's blog: London Rajar - Q2/2012
Matt Deegan's blog: RAJAR Q2/2012
Guardian: Absolute Radio and Planet Rock enjoy big rise in listeners
The Drum: Radio listening hours decline despite rise in mobile use
Mail Online: The great digital switch off: Two thirds of radio listeners still refuse to use new services
Bill Rogers: Rajar Radar
�� Radio 4 Blog: A view from the network

RAJARS: Q1 2012

2012-05-17T13:31:48+00:00

The RAJARs, the listening figures for UK radio, covering the first quarter of this year are out. Here's the �� RAJARs press release.

The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).

RAJAR related links:

RAJAR website
�� Media Centre: Radio 6 Music adds audiences to accolades
The Radio 3 blog: Radio 3 - The lastest results
�� News online: Radio 2's Ken Bruce gets best ever audience
Media UK: How do radio listener figures work?
CMU: RAJAR round up
Radio Today: RAJAR - The ups and downs of local radio
Mirror: Evans above - Chris Moyles stays unusually quiet as Radio 2 rival pulls in 2m more listeners
The Guardian: Nearly 30% of radio listeners go digital – but share of DAB radio slips
Adam Bowie: RAJAR Q1 2012
Paul Easton: London Rajar - Q1/2012
Rajar Smilies: Statistics simplified with smilies
Image, used under license, by Niklas Morberg

Melvin, �� Three Counties Radio and social media

2011-05-23T14:43:00+00:00

Editor's note: Brett was previously the interactive editor of 5 live before becoming the managing editor at Three Counties Radio. I asked him for his thoughts on the role of social networks in local radio. (PM)

Last July I left �� Radio 5 live after six years and drove north to Luton. I hadn't worked in local radio since the early nineties, but the chance to run my nearest radio station was too good an opportunity to pass up.

The 5 Live newsroom I left was fully engaged with social media, with a variety of Facebook and Twitter accounts, presenters engaging with the audience and audio and video shared and distributed daily.

At �� Three Counties Radio I quickly found that social media was not really on the agenda. So as we set about putting together a new schedule and defining how we were going to re-shape the programming, I thought it was important to get the station working in digital spaces at the same time.

Working with the brilliant Claire Wardle and Sue Llewellyn we designed two days to talk to everyone in the station about what could be achieved. Every producer and presenter spent 2 hours learning the essentials. There was a clear message: if we do this, it will increase the reach of our radio content.

But it's not just about teaching people what to do. Integrating social media into the radio station needs support from the very top. The management needs to be engaged and actively involved. It's not enough to have a lone person in the newsroom responsible for social media, it's everybody's job.

At 3CR the two news editors that cover the broadcast day now have it as part of their job description to update social media, share content and engage with the listeners. We created time in their day to do this. Just as crucially the journalists are using it as a newsgathering tool.

In just a few weeks we found on Twitter a gamer addicted to playing 18 hours a day that tied into a Panorama programme, friends of a murder victim and a local man who was designing a space mission to name just three. We uncovered local stories, new guests and shared masses of content. When we tweeted and engaged on Facebook about a local park being closed in Bushey, the callers that rang in were keen to point out that they had never listened to 3CR - and didn't know it covered their area. We found an 18 year old dancer from Hertfordshire waiting in a queue outside the Hammersmith Apollo to audition for Britain's Got Talent.

Additionally, and just as importantly, the presenters are connecting with the listeners in digital spaces for the first time. Social media is being used to extend the reach of the radio station and bring new ears to 3CR content. Just a couple of weeks ago, there was Melvin, a caller ranting about how much he hated the Royal Wedding. He was on air at 0920. Laura Miller, who produces the mid-morning show, had this on Audioboo and in the Twittersphere by 0935, as she continued to output the show. To date, as a result of social media, it's been played 115,000 times, that's greater than the weekly reach of some stations. Melvin may have called his local station in Luton, but the next day he could hear his call being played and talked about on WNYC in New York.

So has this strategy it worked? Well admittedly it's difficult to equate social media activity directly to gains in listeners. But last week �� Three Counties Radio had its best Rajar for six years. I would like to think the two are connected.

Brett Spencer is currently working on social media innovation projects for �� English Regions. Follow his personal account on Twitter @brettsr

Follow �� Three Counties Radio on Twitter at @bbc3cr
Read radio and new media consultant Matt Deegan's blog post on radio and Twitter ("...Overall, Twitter is a great resource and platform to help grow audience and engagement. Remember though that the vast majority of your listeners probably don't care..."): Radio's Twitter Obsession

The Q4 Rajars in the press and on the social networks

2011-02-03T12:52:52+00:00

Using a beta (test) version of a service called Storify we've rounded up the reaction in the press, on the blogs and on the social networks to this morning's RAJAR numbers. What's your opinion of the numbers? Log in to leave a comment.

Steve Bowbrick, blogs editor

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is jointly owned by the �� and commercial radio trade body the Radio Centre. Participating listeners are asked to record their radio listening in quarter-hour time blocks for one week.
The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).
�� Audio & Music's RAJAR press release.
Thanks to Jem Stone for curating the links.

Adrian Van Klaveren on 5 live's Rajars

2011-02-03T12:50:16+00:00

I asked the ��'s media correspondent, Torin Douglas, to drop into 5 live's offices in Television Centre this morning to interview Controller Adrian Van Klaveren about the station's performance in the final quarter of 2010.

Steve Bowbrick, blogs editor

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is jointly owned by the �� and commercial radio trade body the Radio Centre. Participating listeners are asked to record their radio listening in quarter-hour time blocks for one week.
The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).
�� Audio & Music's RAJAR press release.

Q4 Rajars

2011-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the ��

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is jointly owned by the �� and commercial radio trade body the Radio Centre. Participating listeners are asked to record their radio listening in quarter-hour time blocks for one week.
The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).
�� Audio & Music's RAJAR press release.
Picture, radio radio, by tizzie. Some rights reserved.

A RAJAR primer

2011-02-01T10:41:19+00:00

Editor's note: on the eve of the publication of the latest radio listening figures, Paul Kennedy, Research Director at RAJAR, explains how they're gathered - SB.

RAJAR, or 'Radio Joint Audience Research', is the official body in charge of radio audience measurement for the UK. RAJAR was established in 1992 to replace two other measurement systems operated separately by the �� and Commercial Radio. Today RAJAR collects information on behalf of over 300 stations, ranging from very small local services to the national networks.

Each week interviewers from Ipsos-MORI (an audience research organisation) recruit over 2,000 people to complete a RAJAR diary. These people are chosen at random within carefully selected areas to ensure the survey is completely representative in terms of the type of people who participate and the areas where they live. The random selection process also ensures inclusivity as much as possible - non-listeners are recruited, while people with disabilities are encouraged to take part with the help of a family member or carer if necessary. Ethnicity is also carefully monitored, with specific quotas set in areas of disproportionate ethnic balance to maintain the correct representation. Recruitment usually takes place over the weekend, and on the following Monday the selected respondents begin keeping a diary of their week's listening.

RAJAR uses a paper diary because it is the system that works best for most people. However, RAJAR is testing an online version, and this could be introduced later in 2011. But it is seen as a complement to the paper diary and not a replacement for it because there are many people who still do not have online access. The diary has separate pages for each day, with the day divided into quarter-hour periods down the side of the page, and the respondent's selected stations across the top to form a matrix. The respondent simply has to draw a line from the quarter-hour when they start listening to a station until the time when they stop. In addition to the station and date/time, the diary also collects information on where the listening takes place (e.g. at home, or in the car) and the platform (e.g. AM/FM, DAB, Internet).

At the end of the week, the interviewers collect the diaries and return them to Ipsos-MORI for processing. This is repeated weekly and, at the end of every 3-month period, the numbers are aggregated to produce results for each station. All stations use the information to plan programme schedules, while the commercial stations also use the statistics to sell advertising airtime, without which they would cease to exist.

More than 100,000 people participate in the RAJAR survey every year, making it one of the largest media studies in the world. The paper diary is the most common method of measuring radio audiences worldwide, although some countries use electronic devices called audiometers. RAJAR has tested several audiometers and continues to work with developers to find one at an affordable price that measures all stations equally, regardless of size, format or means of broadcasting.

Paul Kennedy is Research Director at RAJAR

The Rajars for Q4 of 2010 are published on Thursday morning. We'll publish details here on the blog.

Who's listening? The Rajars are coming

2011-01-27T18:59:25+00:00

The Rajars? Obscure industry obsession or the beating heart of radio? The RAJAR figures for the fourth quarter of 2010 are published next Thursday morning, 3 February. Watch this space for coverage of the numbers that give radio people sleepless nights, starting on Tuesday with an exclusive primer on how they're gathered from RAJAR Research Director Paul Kennedy.

Steve Bowbrick, blogs editor

Read Tim Davie's blog post about the previous quarter's numbers here and the stats themselves on the RAJAR web site.

The Latest RAJAR Listening Figures: can it all be good news?

2010-10-29T07:00:00+00:00

http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php

As I was reading an article listing all the official quotes from radio industry leaders - myself included - reacting to the latest quarterly radio listening numbers, it was hard not to feel somewhat exhausted by endlessly positive sentiments. Nearly every quote is upbeat with each company proclaiming success. So what's going on?

Firstly, the good news is that when a sector is growing then there is a genuine opportunity for all companies to increase listening. I have spent the last few months emphasizing that although the radio market faces some challenges, it is time to accept that it has proved much more robust than anyone expected. Indeed, it has shown that it will remain a major force in a fully digital world. The latest Rajars actually showed a record high number of listeners (46.8 million) and showed an increase in hours for the first time in a while (up to 22.6 hrs a week). This is excellent news and it should give radio real confidence to lead the media sector. Revenues may be smaller than some other sectors such as TV or online but the depth of its relationship with the audience is second-to-none.

Meanwhile, after a record-breaking quarter some �� services did take a small step back versus the last quarter although nearly all are up versus a year ago. However, as listening grew, we did see a small decline in our share of the market. Some may think this would be cause for concern in Broadcasting House but it is not a key metric for us. We maintained the numbers of listeners (66% of the population over 15) and actually grew hours (up to 16.7 hrs a week). So the �� increased its importance while the market grew and commercial radio benefited. This growth, helped by the strong performance of national stations, is welcome because it helps drive revenues and growth for the whole sector.

So although the natural instinct of all corporate leaders may be to focus statements on the more positive elements of the facts, this quarter's results have enough genuinely good figures to keep most of the industry smiling.

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the ��

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is jointly owned by the �� and commercial radio trade body the Radio Centre. Participating listeners are asked to record their radio listening in quarter-hour time blocks for one week.
The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).
�� Audio & Music's RAJAR press release.
Picture, RAJAR Q2 2010, by Adam Bowie, used under licence.

�������� Radio Blog Feed

RAJARS Q2 2012: A round up

RAJARS: Q1 2012

Melvin, �������� Three Counties Radio and social media

The Q4 Rajars in the press and on the social networks

Adrian Van Klaveren on 5 live's Rajars

Q4 Rajars

A RAJAR primer

Who's listening? The Rajars are coming

The Latest RAJAR Listening Figures: can it all be good news?

�� Radio Blog Feed

Melvin, �� Three Counties Radio and social media