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The radio industry has universally welcomed the new Rajar

methodology, with commercial stations such as Classic FM and BBC

stations such as Radio 4 faring well in last week’s results.

However, while media owners and buyers alike have applauded the more

accurate reflection of the radio market, they have expressed frustration

at not being able to compare the results with previous ones. The problem

will be ironed out in August as this most recent set of figures

represents the last five months of radio listening rather than the usual

three, due to a glitch in the system.

The new method involves a listening diary, which is easier to use and,

more significantly, has eradicated the dilution of figures that was

caused by shared listening in participating households.

Despite the changes, the BBC maintained its lead over commercial radio,

with a 50.3 per cent share of listening against 47.5 per cent. ’We are

up against a formidable opponent,’ Justin Sampson, the operations

director of the Radio Advertising Bureau, said.

A positive effect of the changes has been felt by youth stations, with

the listening habits of the 15-24 market no longer being reported by

parents but by the listeners themselves. Xfm has pulled itself out of

the doldrums, recording 350,000 listeners, while Kiss FM has a 2.9 per

cent share.

Meanwhile, Talk Radio has claimed that its heavy investment and

aggressive publicity drive is paying off, maintaining that it is happy

with its increase over the last quarter, although like-for-like

comparisons are prevented by the method change.

Yvonne Scullion, the head of radio at Zenith Media, commented: ’The new

method appears to be picking up light listening - to stations such as

Radio 4 and Classic FM - more effectively.

The stations that enjoy appointment-based listening to particular

segments rather than generic station loyalty have fared well.’

RADIO LISTENING IN QUARTER ONE 1999

                 Weekly reach   Average hours   Total hours     Share of

                            %    per listener         ’000s    listening

                                                                       %

BBC Radio 1                23             8.7        94,143          9.8

BBC Radio 2                20            12.7       122,592         12.8

BBC Radio 4                20            11.6       109,445         11.4

Classic FM                 13             6.8        40,784          4.3

BBC Radio 5 Live           12             6.8        39,792          4.2

Virgin Radio (AM only)      7             6.5        22,812          2.4

Talk Radio                  5             7.3        16,900          1.8

Atlantic 252*               5             4.3         9,761          1.0

BBC Radio 3                 5             5.8        13,246          1.4

All BBC                    64            15.8       480,503         50.3

All commercial             66            14.4       454,576         47.5

All radio                  89            22.4       956,080        100.0

*The majority of Atlantic 252’s total survey area covers approximately

66 per cent of the UK population.

Source: Rajar.