Agreement includes both Diary and Portable People MeterTM Ratings Services
NEW YORK, May 6, 2008 - Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) today announced that The Radio Research Consortium (RRC, Inc.) has signed a multi-year contract for syndicated radio ratings services in all radio markets that Arbitron measures in the United States.
The agreement covers both diary and Portable People MeterTM measured markets, and is effective immediately. Under the agreement, Arbitron will provide Portable People Meter based ratings in each of the top 50 US local markets as and when it commercializes the service in such market.
The Radio Research Consortium will sublicense Arbitron radio ratings data to Non-commercial radio stations and their supporting organizations.
“The Radio Research Consortium is pleased to continue its history of providing Arbitron estimates to non-commercial radio stations nationwide,” said Joanne Church, President, RRC, Inc. “We are excited about exploring the potential of the PPM methodology, especially its utility in measuring the public service component of non-commercial media programming.”
“Public radio provides unique programming to a large audience,” said Vincent A. Gardino, Executive Director of Underwriting/Radio & Digital Media, WNYC-AM/FM. “As an industry, we are accountable to our underwriters and sponsors. Having ratings data broadly available to all non-commercial radio stations will allow us to demonstrate the value of these stations as well as help us develop better programming to reach our communities.”
Over the next three years, Arbitron is scheduled to deploy the Portable People Meter in the top 50 markets in place of the paper diary method that the company has used to collect radio audience estimates since 1965.
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