RAJAR

What RAJAR does

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd) is the official body responsible for measuring radio audiences in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 and jointly owned by the BBC and the Radiocentre on behalf of the commercial radio sector. It operates as a not-for-profit Joint Industry Currency (JIC), producing and selling audience data at cost to provide a transparent, industry-owned trading currency for UK radio advertising. The organization's core methodology is a seven-day listening diary survey administered to approximately 110,000 adults aged 15+ over 50 weeks per year, capturing data at quarter-hour granularity between 06:00 and 24:00 and at half-hour granularity overnight, with platform breakdown across AM/FM, DAB, DTV, and Internet.

The product portfolio centers on the Quarterly Listening Report and supporting deliverables — Survey Updates, Market Information, Volumes summaries, TSA postcode mapping, and Quarter Hour Charts — which collectively provide weekly reach, hours, market share, daypart, and target market analysis to subscribers. The RAJAR Audio MIDAS Survey extends the franchise beyond linear radio into broader audio consumption, covering podcasts, live and catch-up radio, on-demand music services, device usage, and listening location/context. Data is distributed primarily through a subscription model with three tiers: commercial radio stations (priced by Total Survey Area size), non-broadcast subscribers such as media agencies, PR companies, and the public (tiered by data access depth), and licensed bureaux whose clients must also be RAJAR subscribers.

RAJAR's go-to-market is relationship-led and institutional rather than marketing-driven: the organization serves a structurally captive UK customer base through direct subscriber engagement, quarterly data releases, ad hoc training sessions, and academic outreach. It is headquartered in central London (15 Alfred Place) with a small operating team, and its geographic footprint is exclusively the United Kingdom. RAJAR carries no external funding, operates on cost-recovery economics, and has no subsidiaries, acquisitions, or pending structural moves disclosed in the source material.

Name

RAJAR

Legal name

Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd

Website

https://rajar.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

RAJAR is the official UK body measuring radio audiences via a seven-day diary survey of ~110,000 adults, jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre, serving broadcasters, media agencies, and advertisers with subscription-based industry-standard data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Audience Measurement Services

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Radio Audience Measurement & Analytics (Ratings, Attribution) (MPAIAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radio Audience Measurement (PPM/Diary/Streaming Radio) (MPABAOAC), Podcast Measurement, Attribution & Audience Insights (MPACADAI)

Keywords

• Radio audience measurement
• Listening data research
• Media measurement services
• Audio consumption analytics
• Industry currency data

Headquarters

HQ city

City Of London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription Services: RAJAR operates a subscription-based revenue model. Commercial radio stations licensed by OFCOM pay subscription fees to be measured on the RAJAR survey. Non-broadcast subscribers (media agencies, PR companies, members of the public) pay for more detailed data access. Bureaux services are available to licensed registered bureaux whose clients are also RAJAR subscribers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. It collects listening data using a seven-day diary methodology from approximately 110,000 adults aged 15+ over 50 weeks per year, and supplies industry-standard audience measurement data — including reach, hours, market share, daypart, and platform breakdowns — to broadcasters, media agencies, advertisers, and other subscribers.

Product overview

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is a single unified research service that provides official radio audience measurement in the UK. The core offering is the Quarterly Listening Report, which provides weekly listening data for all surveyed radio stations. This is complemented by Survey Updates (bulletins on new stations and changes), Market Information documents, Volumes summaries, Mapping data (TSA postcode geographic data), and Quarter Hour Charts for detailed time-based analysis. The RAJAR Audio MIDAS Survey provides additional insight into audio consumption patterns including podcasts, live radio, catch-up radio, and on-demand music services across various devices and locations. The service operates on a subscription model for commercial radio stations, media agencies, and non-broadcast subscribers, and uses a seven-day listening diary methodology with approximately 110,000 adult respondents annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MIDAS: RAJAR Audio MIDAS Survey - designed to provide context and insight into how, when and where audio content is being consumed, including device usage, activities, location, and Audio Types such as Podcasts, Live and Catch Up Radio, On Demand Music Services

Products and services

• Quarterly Listening Report Quarterly Summary Report of all stations with added features, providing adult weekly listening figures for every station on the survey. Used by broadcasters, media agencies, and advertisers for audience analysis.
• Survey Updates Bulletin report providing information on the survey period, new stations that have joined, and any changes to the stations or groups. Targeted at radio industry subscribers.
• Market Information Documents detailing all the latest market information for subscribers, covering radio market trends and audience dynamics.
• Volumes Latest summary of results providing aggregate listening data for radio stations in the UK.
• Mapping (TSA Postcode Data) Total Survey Area postcode data for geographic analysis of radio audiences across the 15 RAJAR IR regions.
• Quarter Hour Chart Average weekday audience figures per quarter hour (in 000s) for detailed time-based listening pattern analysis, covering 06:00–24:00 in quarter-hour periods and 24:00–06:00 in half-hour periods.
• MIDAS (RAJAR Audio Survey) Survey designed to provide context and insight into how, when, and where audio content is being consumed, including device usage, activities, location, podcasts, live and catch-up radio, and on-demand music services.
• Release Dates Schedule Schedule of upcoming releases of RAJAR data, including Quarterly Listening releases and MIDAS seasonal releases (Spring, Winter, Autumn).

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered primary, strategic, regulatory and industry.

• BBCprimaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe BBC is the joint owner of RAJAR alongside the Radiocentre. RAJAR was established to provide official radio audience measurement in the UK, with the BBC as a key stakeholder and primary data contributor.
• RadiocentreprimaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Radiocentre represents the commercial radio sector and is the joint owner of RAJAR alongside the BBC. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and the Radiocentre on behalf of the commercial sector.
• IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IPA is listed as an industry partner linked on the RAJAR website. IPA registered media agencies are eligible to subscribe to RAJAR data services.
• ISBAstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerISBA is listed as an industry partner linked on the RAJAR website. ISBA represents advertisers and brands who use RAJAR data for media planning.
• OFCOMregulatoryStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAJAR measures commercial radio stations that are licensed by OFCOM. The regulatory relationship ensures compliance with broadcasting standards.
• Joint Industry Currencies (JICs)industryStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAJAR is part of the Joint Industry Currencies (JICs) framework, owned by the industry - advertisers, agencies and media owners - to provide transparent and objective audience measurement for radio.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Edison Research: US-based audio research firm producing widely-cited studies (e.g., The Infinite Dial) on podcast, radio and streaming audio consumption. Adjacent audience-measurement focus on the digital audio formats (podcasts, streaming) that RAJAR's MIDAS is extending into.
• Triton Digital: Digital audio measurement and ad-tech platform (now part of iHeartMedia), focused on streaming and podcast audience measurement — the very category that threatens traditional radio measurement bodies like RAJAR. Highly relevant as the digital-audio competitor to RAJAR's MIDAS extension.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global audience and media measurement firm serving advertisers and agencies across TV, digital, print and audio. Comparable as a multi-territory audience measurement provider with overlapping relationships to advertising trading desks that also subscribe to RAJAR.
• Nielsen: Global audience measurement giant operating Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) for radio ratings in the US and internationally. A broader, global incumbent that competes with RAJAR-equivalents by offering multi-market audio measurement for advertisers.
• Ipsos: Global market research and audience measurement firm (post-GfK consumer integration) offering audience measurement services across media. Operates in adjacent measurement categories and serves many of the same advertiser/agency buyers as RAJAR.

Direct peers

• BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board): UK television audience measurement body operating under the same Joint Industry Currency / at-cost model, jointly owned by broadcasters, agencies and advertisers. Identical institutional design and audience-measurement mission to RAJAR, just for TV instead of radio.
• Numeris: Canada's official radio and TV audience measurement body, structurally identical to RAJAR as an industry-funded currency provider. Close methodological parallel (panel-based audience measurement) for a national broadcast market.
• Médiamétrie: France's official cross-media audience measurement body, including radio audiences. Operates the equivalent JIC-style measurement infrastructure for the French market — same institutional model and product set as RAJAR.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rajar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RAJAR