As foreshadowed yesterday here on radioinfo, a statement has been included with today’s ratings results about Sport 927 and other non-participating stations.

It reads:

Note from Peter Cornelius – Radio Audience Surveys 2004

For Metropolitan Radio Audience Survey 1 of 2004, the way in which information on non participating commercial stations was collected was altered by ceasing to include separately in the diaries provided to listeners, the names of commercial radio stations which did not subscribe to the radio audience survey service. Listeners were instead asked to include in their diaries the names of any non listed stations to which they listened. Listening figures for the non listed commercial radio stations were included in the published share results for Survey 1 2004. The relevant stations were 2KY and 2SM in Sydney and Radio Sport 927 in Melbourne.

It has been suggested that the new procedure may have brought about anomalous results for the non subscriber commercial radio stations. Nielsen Media Research has taken these comments into consideration and will now not report the results (including historical trends) on non subscribing commercial radio stations whilst ever the names of those stations are not included in the listening diaries.

In view of the concerns expressed as to the reliability of the results obtained by using the original methodology, Nielsen Media Research has removed all reference to non subscribing commercial radio stations from all publicly available statements relating to Survey 1 2004, which are controlled by Nielsen Media Research, and understand that Commercial Radio Australia has taken the same action in relation to publicly available statements controlled by it.

These changes have been undertaken after consultation and with the agreement of Commercial Radio Australia.

If you have any further queries please contact myself or Commercial Radio Australia.

Kind Regards

Peter Cornelius
Managing Director.