RAJAR data compared with podcast download claims for UK buyers

What to take away

RAJAR measures radio listening by station and region and leaves podcast-only listening out, so download and reach figures cover different populations.
Downloads are a delivery count, not a reach measure. Do not convert them into listeners at a fixed ratio.
Ask for the claim in writing, pull the matching RAJAR regional table, then check the show against Apple subscription listening reports.
Keep RAJAR and platform figures in two columns, never added, and file a dated one-page note for each claim.

What RAJAR measures, and what it leaves out

RAJAR is Radio Joint Audience Research, the UK's official radio survey, owned by the BBC and commercial radio through Radiocentre. Its RAJAR quarterly listening data gives weekly reach, hours and share by station and region.

A diary panel records listening in quarter-hour blocks for a week, weighted by region, age and sex, so results are estimates rather than headcounts.

Podcast-only listening sits outside the core survey, so someone who only hears a show in an app is not counted. Downloads and completion rates are outside RAJAR's scope as well.

RAJAR does not audit a network's own logs, so the checks in how to audit a network's audience and attribution claims pick up where the survey stops.

Its regional tables cover the English regions, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so a Manchester or Glasgow claim can be checked against real radio listening.

Six steps for checking a reach claim

Ask for the claim in writing, with the metric nameddownloads, plays, weekly listeners or reach.
Open the current RAJAR quarterly release and pull the reach table for the nation or region in the claim.
Pull the show's Apple subscription listening report for followers, plays and completion.
Compare like with like. A lifetime download total cannot face a weekly RAJAR reach figure.
Check the metric definitions against IAB UK measurement guidance.
File a dated one-page note with the sources, the figures and the decision.

Six-Step Claim Audit Method

Get the claim in writing, metric named
Pull RAJAR data for region and station
Request Apple subscription listening reports
Compare claimed reach with RAJAR figure
Check measurement standard used
Write and file a one-page note

Step four fails most often. A claim of more weekly listeners in Scotland than the whole Scottish radio market usually means lifetime downloads.

Step three is the one buyers skip. Apple subscription listening reports come from the platform rather than the seller, so they are a useful scale check.

Example: a regional claim put to the test

Figures here are invented to show the arithmetic.

A network claims 180,000 weekly listeners in the North West. Its dashboard, shown on request, lists 180,000 downloads since launch across eight episodes and no plays figure.

That is about 22,500 downloads per episode, and nothing supports the weekly count.

Suppose the RAJAR regional table for the same quarter shows 4.6 million weekly radio listeners in the North West. The claim would equal 4 per cent of regional radio listening for one show.

What you measure shapes what you can defend, so read the guidance on podcast advertising key metrics before agreeing a rate card.

Four errors in download-to-reach conversions

Downloads treated as reach. One listener may fetch an episode on two devices, and auto-download pulls files nobody plays.
Radio reach added to podcast reach. Presenters work on both, so one listener is counted twice.
National download totals priced against regional rate cards. Most dashboards do not split by region.
Lifetime totals quoted as campaign figures. Ask for the campaign period and for plays, not downloads.

Downloads vs Listeners vs Reach

Downloads

What it counts: File requests
Repeat behaviour: Counted again
Never played: Still counted
Nature of figure: Exact count
Geography split: Rarely available

RAJAR reach

What it counts: People exposed
Repeat behaviour: Not counted
Never played: Not applicable
Nature of figure: Modelled estimate
Geography split: By region

Reading RAJAR and platform reports side by side

RAJAR quarterly listening data

Population: UK radio listeners by station and region
Metric type: Survey estimate of reach and hours
Geography: Nations and English regions
Podcast-only listening: Excluded
Buyer use: Regional radio baseline

Apple subscription listening reports

Population: Apple Podcasts users who follow or play the show
Metric type: Platform counts of plays and followers
Geography: Country level, where reported
Podcast-only listening: Included if on Apple Podcasts
Buyer use: Direction and scale check

Take the table into client meetings to stop a false comparison with the RAJAR figure.

A claim that cannot be split by region is a national claim, and it should be priced as one.

Documenting the claim so it survives an audit

The claim as received, dated, with the metric named and the source release.
The RAJAR table used, with the figure copied across.
The platform report used, with its pull date.
The arithmetic, showing the claim divided by the source figure.
The decision and the rate agreed.
The reviewer's name and date of review.

Keep the note to one page.

The CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, requires substantiated claims, and an advertiser repeating an unsubstantiated figure inherits that risk. This guide to podcast advertising measurement and reporting covers the reporting side.

Common questions

Does RAJAR measure podcast-only listening?

No. The core survey covers radio listening, so a show heard only in a podcast app never appears in RAJAR reach.

Can I add RAJAR reach and podcast downloads together?

No. Presenters and audiences overlap, so the figures double count the same listener.

What download-to-listener ratio is defensible?

None as a fixed number. Ask for plays and completion, and disclose any conversion as an assumption.

How often should I recheck a claim?

Each quarter, when the RAJAR release lands, and whenever the rate card or campaign plan changes.