Under the RAJAR
Where do radio listening figures come from?
How many people listen to the radio? What do they listen to?
These are major questions for radio broadcasters and advertisers. Different programmes and stations are battling for listeners.
Journalists often write about radio listening statistics with total certainty. For example, a Music Week article claimed:
As for Chris Evans, he was… up! The former Radio 2 presenter added 3000 listeners as his Virgin Radio breakfast show edged up from 1,111,000 to 1,114,000. Marginal gains.
This article will explain where these listening figures come from.
Radio Gaga
Radio Audience Joint Audience Research (RAJAR) publishes radio listening figures for the UK. The BBC and Radiocentre own this research organisation. Radiocentre represent commercial radio stations.
Ipsos MORI conduct the fieldwork for RAJAR, finding adults and children (aged 10 or over) to survey in the UK. Whilst children are part of the survey, listening figures usually refer to people aged 15 or over.
Ipsos MORI select households to ensure coverage across the various radio services. Each interviewer gets up to 150 addresses across two small areas. Every fourth address highlighted for…
