MUMBAI: After Big FM came down heavily on the Media Research User Council (MRUC) for its allegedly ‘inappropriate’ radio measurement system – the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) – other broadcasters have also mooted the formation of an alternative body for radio measurement.
My FM COO Harish Bhatia says, We have expressed our concerns to The Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI) and are planning to set up a meeting with the radio industry to discuss the modus operandi for carrying out listenership surveys. After the meeting, AROI would be addressing our issues with MRUC and chalk out solutions for the industry….
Bhatia elaborates, MRUC had not approached radio broadcasters before conducting the survey and is not a benchmark in the industry. The figures cited by MRUC does affect our standing in the market, so there is a need for a common currency accepted by the industry….
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Fever FM national marketing head Neeraj Chaturvedi opines, There are multiple levels of issues with the IRS data but the basis is the method followed. They follow the recall method and the most recall brands gain mileage irrespective of their listenership and stand in the market. Secondly, it is not specifically designed for radio so; it cannot be accepted as a currency in the industry. We are present in RAM markets and so, RAM becomes a more robust data for us to rely on…
Non-availability of RAM in Tier 2, Tier 3 cities poses a hurdle for stations not present in metros. As Bhatia puts in, The current currency- RAM is only available in the metro markets and there is no measurement for Tier 2, Tier 3 cities. The radio broadcasters have been having two minds about RAM as well, so there is a need to create an alternative body accepted by the industry to track listenership…
An industry observer stresses that the radio sector is unexplored because of lack of concrete listenership data. Although RAM is accepted as a currency in metro markets, it cannot be denied that broadcasters had questioned its reliability last year. The other option, IRS data is not designed for radio and cannot be accepted as a benchmark. Lack of robust data makes it difficult for the industry to exhibit its strength and the only way is approaching an agency to conduct survey by a method acceptable to all…
Club FM COO George Sebastian asserts, The MRUC data is contrary to our in-house research data and creates a conflict for the advertisers. Fundamentally, IRS data is not designed for radio and hence is not robust and lacks analytical data on listenership. In Kerala, they conducted surveys only in Cochin and Trivandrum and missed out key places of Thrissur and Kannur. The listenership in Kerala is then totaled by an average in those two places, which is not a true representation of listenership in the state…
RK Swamy/BBDO group senior media advisor PRP Nair analyses, IRS is the only survey which covers broader spectrum of radio listenership. The concern over under estimation arises because of confusion in the minds of the listener over multiple numbers of radio channels available throughout the country. Also, IRS is not a dedicated radio survey so the only way is RAM extending its reach in smaller towns. The hurdle in RAM’s expansion being the cost factor and non affordability of radio players in these areas. As advertisers, IRS is still a base for planning our campaigns in smaller towns because of absence of any other radio measurement system…
Big FM has expressed its displeasure with TAM’s radio measurement, Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) last year. Reliance Media World Ltd CEO Tarun Katial has in an interview with radioandmusic.com had conveyed his concerns over allegedly erroneous RAM data, following which other broadcasters had also voiced their opinions.
