The Infinite Dial

The British radio audience measurement commission called RAJAR does a great job of measuring ALL radio listening, no matter what the device. While Arbitron shows that listening to AM and FM has dropped 14% in the last eight years, we don't have a really good handle on total radio listening when online, satellite, and other platforms are counted. When RAJAR looks at total listening, it is actually up in aggregate.

Well, clearly someone has to try to come up with a total radio listening measurement, and I vow to work with Arbitron and others to do so.

But when one looks at the British data across so many platforms, it really is amazing. We have already written about the British progress in digital radio as compared to HD. But even more revolutionary is their tracking of radio listening on cell phones, or as they would call them, "mobile phones". In the most recent report, RAJAR now reports that 10% of adults in the UK have listened to radio on their mobiles.

I know it is easy to say: "Gee we really need to get radio tuners into cell phones over here." I will honestly admit I have no idea how to make this happen. But I will go along with all the other radio commentators who point out how crucial this could be.