Read who belongs in the denominator
A station’s total listening can be averaged across the whole measured population or only those reached by the station. RAJAR’s glossary defines those as different measures. The phrase per listener therefore cannot be replaced with per person in the country. Keep the station, reporting period and population scope attached to the figure.
Work through a simple fictional example
Suppose an illustrative measured population contains 100 people,20 of whom listen, generating 100 listening hours in a week. Hours per head would be 100 divided by 100, or 1 hour. Hours per listener would be 100 divided by 20, or 5 hours. These invented numbers demonstrate the denominators; they are not results for a real station or an estimate of anyone’s individual listening.
Do not turn the average into a personal schedule
An average of five hours among listeners does not mean every listener spent exactly five hours with the station. Some may have heard much more and others much less. Likewise, the lower population average includes people who did not listen at all. A headline that omits the measure can therefore produce a misleading impression of the audience’s behaviour.
Compare stations on the same basis
Before describing one station as more engaging, check that both numbers use the same metric, survey period, age group and geographic scope. A national and a local result may also have different populations. If the bases cannot be aligned, report them separately. The useful conclusion follows the actual denominator, rather than whichever average makes the more dramatic claim.
Questions, answered
Are hours per head and hours per listener the same metric?
No. RAJAR defines different denominators.
Does an average describe every listener’s exact behaviour?
No. It summarises a group, not identical individual schedules.