R16 - RAJAR

RAJAR stands for Radio Joint Audience Research and is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. It is jointly owned by the BBC and the RadioCentre on behalf of the commercial sector.

RAJAR is responsible for setting the research specification, the awarding of the research contracts to third party suppliers and the overall quality control , management and delivery of the service. The day to day operations are overseen by the Chief Executive and Research Director. RAJAR is structured as a 'deadlocked' company whereby Board decisions require the agreement of all shareholders. The RAJAR Board is chaired by a non-executive independent Chairman. The day to day operations of RAJAR are the responsibility of the Chief Executive and Research Director. It is a not for profit company, funded by an annual fee payable in part by the BBC and the balance from the commercial operators via subscription fees payable by the participating stations who subscribe to the service.RAJAR is set up as a JIC (Joint Industry Committee) that represents in addition to the BBC and the commercial sector, the interests of the wider advertising community. A representative of the IPA and a representative of ISBA (the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers) attend Board meetings and their input is sought on all major issues.

This graph shows a different range of radio stations in London; some which are local london radio stations whilst others are national  but also in London. The more national radio stations have the ability to broadcast to a larger population, which allows them to target a larger audience. The graph (blue line) shows that they can reach populations of 50-60,000 whereas Dream 100, a local radio station reaches between 200-1000 of the population. The more of the population it reaches, the more people listen to it. However even though many of the radio stations can attract a large population, it does not necessarily mean that the total listening hours are high. For example BBC Asian Network UK. It's audience is around 54,000 however the total listening hours are 4122.