The radio industry is considering a recommendation to double the scale of the quarterly Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey in the Dublin area, in order to limit fluctuations in quarterly figures. The recommendation was made in an independent analysis of the JNLR system conducted by British radio research expert Roger Gane.
Ipsos MRBI carries out the JNLR research, which is used by advertisers in relation to radio and which is financed by radio stations. Gane was asked by the JNLR committee to look into possible reforms of the research following complaints from within the industry and from some media buyers about the quality of the survey, as its results are now released quarterly. The committee has welcomed the findings and is exploring the options for improving the survey. Overall, the report endorsed the JNLR’s methodology and said that the survey was being operated by Ipsos MRBI to the ‘‘expected professional standard’’.
One station – thought to be 98FM – had questioned the validity of an apparent dramatic slump in its share in the first three months of this year, as reported in the last JNLR survey, which found its share was 5 per cent, down from 15 per cent for the same period in 2010. Gane described this result as an extreme outlier, but said it was likely that there would be other similar occurrences. He also highlighted the size of the Dublin survey. At the moment, just 2,000 people are surveyed each year for the JNLR in Dublin, which means quarterly reports are based on 500 responses. This is a small sample, given that there are now 13 competing radio stations in the Dublin area. Adding an extra 2,000 surveys would cost around €50,000 a year, based on the estimated current cost of the survey, which is some €400,000.
Gane also advised against moving at this point to meter based audience management systems, since these had been found to be not yet fit for purpose.
