[cma-l] Deducing FM listening figures

Wed Sep 11 11:21:46 BST 2013

what the CR sector needs is a robust methodology and a way to make sure
that the survey is collected and processed in a robust manner, I have
spoken to a few people in the wider radio sector, and if the methodology
was robust it would be accepted.

If we could get a grant to commission a project to create the methodology
and maybe run a pilot across a couple of stations that would be great.
 That methodology could then be published and CR stations could commission
other organisations to conduct it (local universities, other CVS or even
other CR's..

-
*Martin Steers | Scout Radio*
Team Leader

t: 07950 967111
s: martin_steers
e: martin.steers at scoutradio.org.uk
w: www.scoutradio.org.uk
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
This email should not be forwarded, copied or shared in any way with anyone
except the person to whom it is addressed. The views, opinions, conclusions
and other information expressed in this electronic mail are not given or
endorsed by Scout Radio unless otherwise indicated by an
authorised representative independent of this message

On Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 11:12 AM, Darren Jenkinson
<Darren at digienable.co.uk>wrote:

> We've just completed a project for a community radio station to establish
> their listening figures. However the station wanted qualitative as well as
> quantitative feedback. So we conducted a city wide survey as well as a
> series of focus groups, to find the information they wanted. This went way
> beyond the sort of information that RAJAR would gather and at a fraction of
> the price.
>
> I suppose it comes down to why you want the numbers. I worked in community
> radio for 12 years and spoke to a number of potential advertisers over that
> time. They wanted to know “How many people are listening?” and “What’s the
> Demographic?” They don’t care about reach or comparative data between
> stations.
>
> We delivered this project because the station wanted the information to
> come from an “outside” agency to give it validity and show it as an
> unbiased piece of work, but also because they managed to attract some
> funding to enable the project to take place.
>
> Additionally, as we were being paid to conduct the research we were
> perhaps more committed to delivering the project well and on time, which as
> I’m sure you’re all aware can slip when you have a full time station to
> run.
>
> I suppose what I’m trying to say is that RAJAR doesn't make sense to me,
> certainly not for community radio. As Andy said, it’s not just about the
> numbers although that is the headline that most people want, collect the
> qualitative as well (what do people enjoy, what could be improved).
>
> Some key points from conducting our own survey:-
>
> It has to be face to face – Online surveys usually tend to reach the
> people who already know about you. Get a table at a schools fun day; attend
> a community fair, you will get a much more realistic range of statistics
> this way.
>
> Offer a prize – It only needs to be small but it encourages more people to
> take part.
>
> Get a decent sample size – Surveys which are filled in by 50-100 people
> tell you very little. We survey just short of 500 people for a TSA of
> 170,000. This means the results are accurate within a 5% range. If you want
> to work out what this would be for your area there is a calculator here
> http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm
>
> Data entry is a nightmare – Unfortunately, there isn’t really a way around
> this and this is where you really need dedicated staff or volunteers.
> Unless, you are paying someone else to do it, in which case that’s their
> problem.
>
> Darren
>
> Darren Jenkinson
> 07958327516
> Darren at DigiEnable.co.uk
> www.DigiEnable.co.uk <http://www.digienable.co.uk/>
>
>   ------------------------------
>  *From:* Andy King <andy.king at commedia.org.uk>
> *To:* Matthew Rogers <matthew at thesourcefm.co.uk>; cma-l at commedia.org.uk
> *Sent:* Wednesday, 11 September 2013, 10:04
> *Subject:* Re: [cma-l] Deducing FM listening figures
>
> Hi Matthew,
>
> Thank you for your post - it is indeed an 'age-old' discussion, but it's
> one that is worth revisiting from time to time, as the question never goes
> away! The more we discuss these things, the more likely we are to find some
> kind of solution, so thank you for bringing it up. Incidentally, in the
> latest figures, internet listening is at 6%:
> http://www.mattdeegan.com/2013/07/31/rajar-facts-q22013/
>
> There have been some fairly interesting and relevant posts on one of the
> radio 'forums' recently, from a manager at Amber Sound FM in Derbyshire. He
> has made enquiries to RAJAR and found that they were asking around £21,000
> to survey the station. RAJAR's reasoning behind this is that there's
> currently no structure in place to measure such small stations, so extra
> surveys would need to be carried out in the specific community radio
> licence area to get any sort of accuracy in results. You can see the
> relevant message here:
> http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=68531594&postcount=34
>
> Even small commercial stations sometimes struggle with RAJAR's methodology
> - you can see the figures for some of the smaller licensees waver up and
> down from survey to survey due to the small number of 'books' issued in
> their TSAs. A few independent commercial stations have left RAJAR in recent
> years, partly for this reason.
>
> There is *definitely* a place for more 'scientific' surveys of community
> radio audience figures than the current hotch-potch of independent surveys
> and guesswork. However, I would have to question whether RAJAR is the way
> ahead here - it's good for larger national and regional stations, but
> doesn't seem particularly suited to very small TSAs. I'm going to open this
> up to the list: does anyone have any thoughts on ways forward with this?
>
> I'd also add the caveat that for *many* community radio stations, raw
> audience numbers aren't as important as the actual engagement of the
> audience. 100,000 people half-listening to Katy Perry in the background is
> arguably less valuable than 10,000 people who are passionate about the
> show's content and the local area, and actively engaging with the station.
> In this way, the station is more of a 'trusted friend' than a remote
> broadcaster miles away.
>
> Anyway, some food for thought - I hope you find it useful!
>
> Cheers
> Andy
>
>
> On 11 September 2013 09:45, Matthew Rogers <matthew at thesourcefm.co.uk>wrote:
>
> Hands up who gets asked, 'How many listeners do you have?' more than any
> other question..?
>
> I was just wondering if there was a semi-reliable or at least sector-wide
> way of telling listener figures without the assistance of Rajar? I'm aware
> of the '10% of the available listening audience' calculation and the
> 'online = 4.6% of total' calculation but these give wildly different
> numbers for Source FM and I guess I'm just wondering if this the same for
> everyone?
>
> Would there be any milage in asking Rajar to release a less expensive
> community radio package with limited shared information to CMA members?
> (sorry if this is an age old discussion)
>
> Cheers and gone..!
> --
> Matthew Rogers - Station Manager
> www.thesourcefm.co.uk
> Tel: 01326 211 782
> Mob: 07789746933
> Listen to Source FM Live<http://live.canstream.co.uk:8000/sourcefm.mp3.m3u>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Reply - cma-l at commedia.org.uk
>
> The cma-l mailing list is a members' service provided by the Community
> Media Association - http://www.commedia.org.uk
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/community_media
> http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
> Canstream Internet Radio & Video: http://www.canstream.co.uk/
> _______________________________________________
>
> Mailing list guidelines:
> http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> To unsubscribe or manage your CMA-L mailing list subscription please visit:
> http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l
>
>
>
>
> --
> Andy King
> Technical Assistant
> Community Media Association
> http://www.commedia.org.uk/
> 0114 279 5219
>
> Canstream Internet Radio & Video
> http://www.canstream.co.uk/
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Reply - cma-l at commedia.org.uk
>
> The cma-l mailing list is a members' service provided by the Community
> Media Association - http://www.commedia.org.uk
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/community_media
> http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
> Canstream Internet Radio & Video: http://www.canstream.co.uk/
> _______________________________________________
>
> Mailing list guidelines:
> http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> To unsubscribe or manage your CMA-L mailing list subscription please visit:
> http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Reply - cma-l at commedia.org.uk
>
> The cma-l mailing list is a members' service provided by the Community
> Media Association - http://www.commedia.org.uk
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/community_media
> http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation
> Canstream Internet Radio & Video: http://www.canstream.co.uk/
> _______________________________________________
>
> Mailing list guidelines:
> http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/
> _______________________________________________
>
> To unsubscribe or manage your CMA-L mailing list subscription please visit:
> http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20130911/e86832d7/attachment.html>