Indiantelevision.com Team

(29 May 2007 7:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Private FM radio broadcasters will now have an audience measurement system as they prepare for setting up stations across the country.

Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) is a service being offered by Nielsen Media Research in collaboration with IMRB International. It will use the 'Radio Dairy' method and measure "intensity and frequency of audiences" on a weekly basis.

The data will be made available to users by September. To start with, RAM panel will measure radio audiences in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The plan is to expand this to 10 cities by the end of 2008.

Radio operators feel the measurement service would stimulate the growth of the industry. FM stations have been struggling to convince advertisers of their reach and advertising rates have been terribly suppressed.

Says TAM Media Research CEO LV Krishnan, "Currently, radio contributes three per cent of the total ad pie. Three years down the line, measurement will bring more business commitment to radio enabling it to double its revenue like we had observed in TV."

RAM will have a sample size of 480 per city. The investment requirement is Rs 1.2 million per subscriber.

The measurement service is segmented into three parts - radio establishment survey, panel representation, and training of the panel.

Radio establishment survey will define reporting universe, factors that influence radio consumption and selling the sampling frames for the panel set up. Household demography, ownership of radio, reach of radio stations and broad viewing habits would be taken into account.

Panel representation of radio takes into consideration demography, FM penetration, work and status of the listener, household size and TV viewing habits as it influences radio listeners, language preference for music, geographical location, radio type (analog/digital) and mode of travel and time.

The measurement tool will also identify "exclusive listeners" and radio director's cut (how many hours a listener listens to radio).

"The RAM service is all set to accelerate radio industry via measurement. The setting up of the RAM service signals maturity and professionalism of radio industry players who have come forth and pledged support for creating and industry-supported currency in a market," says Krishnan.

Welcoming the new measurement system, Big FM COO Tarun Katial says: "With so many players in the market, it is imperative to have a common radio listeners currency."

The Indian Listenership Track (ILT) from the Media Research Users' Council (MRUC) is the only other measurement system but it uses the DAR (Day After Recall) methodology.

RAM, which is using the `Diary Method' now, plans to move to the electronic system.