Radio Research Consortium
Encyclopedia
The Radio Research Consortium (RRC) is a non-profit research company based in Olney, Maryland
which provides listener data on radio audiences to non-commercial stations in the United States. Data is obtained through a contract with Arbitron
.
actually ranked 2nd or 3rd in 2005-2006 but was absent from traditional reporting of Arbitron
data in publications such as Radio & Records
which include only commercial stations.
RRC's founding employees include former Arbitron Employees including the former Manager of Production and Radio Market Reports. Today the company serves over 600 customers including
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, and Public Radio International
stations.
RRC has been criticized for contributing to the homogenization of public radio, particularly in their home market, Washington DC.
Olney, Maryland
Olney, a census-designated place and an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, is located in the north central part of the county, twenty miles north of Washington, D.C. It was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when growth of the Washington suburbs led to its conversion into...
which provides listener data on radio audiences to non-commercial stations in the United States. Data is obtained through a contract with Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
.
History
The company was founded in 1981 as an alliance of 14 stations to provide access to market data which was previously available only to commercial stations. The company made it possible for public radio stations to show advertisers and underwriters that they commanded a much larger share of the market than previously assumed. In the case of the San Francisco Market, for example, KQED-FMKQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
actually ranked 2nd or 3rd in 2005-2006 but was absent from traditional reporting of Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
data in publications such as Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
which include only commercial stations.
RRC's founding employees include former Arbitron Employees including the former Manager of Production and Radio Market Reports. Today the company serves over 600 customers including
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, and Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
stations.
RRC has been criticized for contributing to the homogenization of public radio, particularly in their home market, Washington DC.