CRA Extends Xtra Insights Radio Ratings Contract

Radio industry body Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has appointed audience opinion specialist Xtra Insights as the official provider of radio measurement surveys in the country, for a further two years.

Xtra Insights has held the contract to deliver Regional Radio Audience Measurement Surveys (RRAMS) since January 2016 - for all regional markets except Gold Coast, Canberra and Newcastle, which are surveyed separately. Under the agreement, commercial radio stations can commission Xtra to undertake surveys in conjunction with public broadcasters in their licence area. Media agencies are then able to access the resulting data online through the CRA's Frequency Regional Radio ratings analyser tool.

The contract extension is effective immediately, with ratings surveys planned for several major regional centres in 2018, including Hobart, Wollongong, Gosford, Townsville and Bendigo. CRA CEO Joan Warner (pictured) comments: 'We look forward to working with Xtra Insights and regional broadcasters over the next two years as we continue to build and evolve the valuable service Xtra provides to these markets. Radio stations that have participated in the surveys have benefited from increased revenue opportunities and improved awareness among advertisers'.

Last October, CRA also extended GfK's radio audience measurement contract by a further five years, in a deal which includes investigation of a new multi-million-dollar Measurement Innovation Program (MIP), to explore the potential for a hybrid future for radio measurement.

Web sites: www.commercialradio.com.au and www.xtrainsights.com