RAJAR

RAJAR stands for Radio Joint Audience Research, it is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. It is in joint ownership with the BBC and the RadioCentre on behalf of the commercial sector.

It was recognised in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry. The BBC and UK licensed commercial stations. The company is mainly owned by the RadioCentre (the Commercial Radio stations in the UK, formally known as CRCA - Commercial Radio Companies Association) and by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

RAJAR's non-executive independent chairman chairs meetings of the board. The day to day operations of RAJAR are the responsibility of the Chief Executive and research director.

History on RAJAR:

Similarities between the previous and current RAJAR system; the research carried out between 1992 and 1998 was based on day seven day self-completetion diaries, personally placed and collected by interviewers.

The sampling and fieldwork plan for 92 - 98 permitted the publication of results for BBC and Commercial Radio national and regional services (with adult populations of 4 million +) on a quarterly basis. Results for most local radios services, both Commercial and BBC, were published for each Quarter 2 & Quarter 4. For the smaller stations, with less of an audience (adult population under 300,0000) were measured once a year, in Quarter 2.

For a year (1996 - 1997), RAJAR carried our a review of methods, followed by an extensive experimental programme of a new diary and sample designs. Following the review, the new RAJAR contract specification included three key new features:

• A 'personalised' diary, customised to include the stations required by each individual respondent.
• Only one adult per household to be interviewed, instead of all household members.
• Measurement of audiences on a rolling basis, with listening date built up over three, six or twelve months, according to the size of station, with publication of all stations results every quarter.

The new RAJAR specification was put out to tender in March 1998. Following a full evaluation of submissions, a four year initial contract, starting in January 1999, was awarded to Ipsos-RSL in June 1998. This was extended for a further two years, until the end of 2006. A new contract was awarded, starting in Q2 2007.

Changes to the main contract include:

• A new diary featuring platform columns as well as location, allowing reporting on each platform separately.
• The move from postcode sectors to districts as building blocks to define TSAs, which led to a reduction in the number of segments, therefore bringing less volatility to the reported date.