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September 4, 2003updated 17 May 2007 11:30am

MacKenzie to take on Rajar in court

By Press Gazette

The Wireless Group has con?rmed that it is to proceed with its proposed legal action against radio ratings research body Rajar.

In July, Wireless Group chairman Kelvin MacKenzie threatened Rajar with litigation, after the researcher said it would reject electronic audience measurement “for the foreseeable future”.  MacKenzie, a campaigner for electronic measurement, blasted Rajar as “charlatans” describing its decision as “disgraceful, made by vested interests behind closed doors”.

According to TWG, an alternative electronic ratings survey, GfK, con?rmed that talkSPORT as the UK’s largest commercial radio station with an audience of 7.7 million listeners, a development which will have fuelled the group’s decision to litigate.

Meanwhile, releasing the company’s interim results this week, MacKenzie said the Wireless group was on the acquisition trail for other radio stations as well as magazines.

“We are actively seeking fresh acquisitions in the radio and magazines sector,” he said in the chairman’s statement.

The group launched its ?rst publication, SoccerBet, a weekly magazine dedicated to football betting, at the end of July. The group generated a pre-tax loss of £6.5m, down from £8.9m previously.

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However, TWG generated its ?rst interim operating pro?t of £600,000, against an operating loss of £1.7m in the same period last year. Turnover was up 3.8 per cent to £14.8m.

 

By Wale Azeez

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