Judge Throws Out Claim Against RAJAR

The UK's High Court has thrown out Kelvin MacKenzie's legal challenge to RAJAR over radio audience measurement methods. The judge ruled that claims RAJAR had abused its market power under competition laws 'simply did not correspond with the facts'.

MacKenzie's company The Wireless Group (TWG) had accused RAJAR of the abuse because of its refusal to adopt electronic measurement more immediately - current plans are for a gradual introduction of the system in the next two years. MacKenzie faces a legal bill amounting to around £700,000.

Mr Justice Lloyd described RAJAR's decision as a 'rational commercial approach, especially when the implications of a change to either [electronic device] would require a good deal of further discussion both with the supplier and with the industry, as well as the specification and placing of a new contract for the provision of the audience research'.

In his summing up, the judge said TWG faced two difficulties: 'First, the allegations it makes about the nature of the Defendant's decision simply do not correspond with the facts... Secondly, when the true nature of the decision is considered, I find it impossible to see how that decision could be said to be an abuse of a dominant position, as lacking objective justification'.

RAJAR MD Sally de la Bedoyere said the ratings body had been vindicated and described the case as 'an utter waste of time and resources', adding that the decision was 'good news for the radio industry and RAJAR, which has had to endure wholly unwarranted allegations against it over the past few years... Sadly and perversely this issue with TWG has been funded by the entire radio industry, including TWG, through the RAJAR subscriber fee. Many RAJAR hours have been spent defending this case and we have incurred substantial legal costs in obtaining the best legal advice available. Thankfully, now this judgement has been handed down, we can focus 100% of our attention, energies and resources on radio audience research, which is RAJAR's raison d'etre'.

A joint statement welcoming the decision was also released by Jenny Abramsky, Director of BBC Radio and Music and Paul Brown, Chief Executive of CRCA. 'RAJAR represents, skilfully and honestly, the interests of more than 300 UK radio stations. That their time and resources have been sidetracked by legal challenge in this way has been unfair to other subscribers. The whole industry must now move forward without delay in order to meet the timetable to a new research contract published by RAJAR in September 2004'.

MacKenzie said yesterday that RAJAR 'may have won a legal skirmish, but the war goes on until technology-based audience measurement is adopted' - however, it is unclear what this means as TWG has said it will not appeal against yesterday's ruling and RAJAR has already set a target date for the introduction of new measurement methodology, likely to include audiometers, of January 2007. The timetable was outlined on DRNO in September.

There is as yet no separate category in MrWeb's vacancy search for 'Legal Representative, Audience Measurement' but we're thinking about it - Ed.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.