MRC votes "no" in yesterday's meeting. Identifies two issues yet to be resolved. MRC to publically identify those two issues. Arbitron's news release this afternoon: [Text of Full Release ]
Arbitron Updates Portable People Meter Rollout Schedule for 2007
Philadelphia to become an electronically measured radio market in January 2007;
New York, Nassau-Suffolk, and Middlesex-Somerset-Union go electronic in October 2007;
Los Angeles and Riverside-San Bernardino go electronic in January 2008;
MRC accreditation for Houston down to two final items;
MRC audit for Philadelphia is underway;
Aggressive industry training program launched at request of radio and agency advisory councilsNEW YORK; November 16, 2006 – Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) today announced an update to the rollout schedule for the Portable People MeterTM ratings service that it previously released in March 2006.
The updated schedule calls for Arbitron to initiate electronic measurement in Philadelphia in January 2007. The Fall 2006 diary-based ratings report would be the “currency” in the market until the release of the March 2007 PPM ratings report. The January 2007 and February 2007 PPM radio ratings reports would be released as demonstration data.
In New York, along with Nassau-Suffolk and Middlesex-Somerset-Union, the two year-round radio markets embedded in the New York radio metro, Arbitron would initiate electronic measurement in October 2007. The Summer 2007 diary-based ratings reports would be the “currency” in the market until the release of the December 2007 PPM radio ratings report. The October 2007 and November 2007 PPM radio ratings report would be released as demonstration data.
In New York, along with Nassau-Suffolk and Middlesex-Somerset-Union, the two year-round radio markets embedded in the New York radio metro, Arbitron would initiate electronic measurement in
October 2007. The Summer 2007 diary-based ratings reports would be the “currency” in the market until the release of the December 2007 PPM radio ratings report. The October 2007 and November 2007 PPM radio ratings report would be released as demonstration data.
In Los Angeles and Riverside-San Bernardino, Arbitron would initiate electronic measurement in January 2008. The Fall 2007 diary-based ratings report would be the “currency” in the market until the release of the March 2008 PPM radio ratings report. The January 2008 and February 2008 PPM radio ratings reports would be released as demonstration data.
Houston, which has been Arbitron’s radio and television demonstration market for the Portable People Meter since mid-2005, would switch from diaries to PPM-based ratings after Arbitron obtains Media Rating Council® (MRC) accreditation for that market.
“The updated schedule we are announcing today balances our commitment to the MRC process, the demands of our PPM customers, and the recent recommendations of our station and agency advisory councils,” said Steve Morris, president and chief executive officer, Arbitron Inc.
“Arbitron is committed to having MRC accreditation of all PPM markets. We have further committed to achieving accreditation prior to commercialization of the PPM service in Houston. That commitment for Houston remains. We understand that, while accreditation was not granted at the November 15 MRC PPM audit committee meeting, the list of question areas has now been narrowed to two. We will be working with the MRC to address those issues as quickly as possible.
“Beyond Houston, we believe we have a critical mass of radio broadcaster support today in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. Together with an overwhelming number of agencies and advertisers, these broadcasters are urging us to begin the commercialization of the PPM ratings service as soon as possible. To that end, once we complete the independent MRC audit for Philadelphia and subsequent markets, illuminate the audit results with a report to the MRC audit committee and provide time for customers to review the impact on their business of PPM data as compared to diary data, we would then commercialize the PPM ratings service in each market. We would, of course, continue to pursue MRC accreditation after a market is commercialized,” said Mr. Morris.
In response to recent recommendations made by the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council and the Advertiser/Agency Advisory Council, the new rollout schedule is designed to:
• Allow subscribing stations and agencies to get the full value of their final diary-based ratings report;
• Ensure that there is only one “currency” for the buying and selling of radio advertising by eliminating any overlap in the use of PPM-based and diary-based ratings;
• Provide two individual months of PPM-based ratings before eliminating diary measurement to allow users to understand the differences between the two methods in each market; and
• Give radio stations and agencies more time to train their sales and buying staffs on how to do business in an electronically measured marketplace.
Preparing stations and agencies for a PPM-measured radio marketplace
Arbitron is finalizing an expanded PPM training program that builds on the on-site and online training options that have been available to stations and agencies for the past 18 months. Plans for expanding the program—which includes addition market-specific training opportunities, dedicated training teams, incentives and other tools for engaging and reaching broadcasters—will be presented to the radio and agency advisory councils later in November for further industry input.
“Our Advisory Council asked Arbitron to give the industry specific dates for the rollout of PPM and to help train the industry on how best to use PPM ratings. We are encouraged by the industry’s interest and commitment to further PPM training, and we welcome the opportunity to move the industry into the implementation stages of PPM. There has been a very clear call to action for both stations and agencies, and we hope the industry will embrace it,” said Pierre Bouvard, president, Sales and Marketing, Arbitron Inc.
About the Portable People Meter
The Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) system uses a passive audience measurement device – about the size of a small cell phone – to track consumer exposure to media and entertainment, including broadcast, cable and satellite television; terrestrial, satellite and online radio as well as cinema advertising and many types of place-based electronic media. Carried throughout the day by randomly selected survey participants, the PPM device can track when and where they watch television, listen to radio as well as how they interact with other forms of media and entertainment.
The PPM detects inaudible codes embedded in the audio portion of media and entertainment content delivered by broadcasters, content providers and distributors. At the end of the day, the meter is placed in a docking station that extracts the codes and sends them to a central computer. The PPM is equipped with a motion sensor, a patented quality control feature unique to the system, which allows Arbitron to confirm the compliance of the PPM survey participants every day.
About Arbitron
Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research firm serving radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertisers, advertising agencies and outdoor advertising companies in the United States, Mexico and Europe. Arbitron’s core businesses are measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of local market consumers; and providing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. The Company has also developed the Portable People Meter (PPM), a new technology for media and marketing research.
Arbitron’s marketing and business units are supported by its research and technology organization, located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 1,700 employees; its executive offices are located in New York City.
Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU, Inc., Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, magazine, newspaper and online industries.
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Portable People MeterTM and PPMTM are marks of Arbitron Inc.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements regarding Arbitron in this document that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes” or “plans,” or comparable terminology, are forward-looking statements based on current expectations about future events, which Arbitron has derived from information currently available to it. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our results to be materially different from results implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include whether we will be able to:
• renew contracts with large customers as they expire;
• successfully execute our business strategies, including implementation of our Portable People MeterTM system and entering into joint-venture or other material third-party agreements;
• effectively manage the impact of any further consolidation in the radio and advertising agency industries;
• keep up with rapidly changing technological needs of our customer base, including creating new proprietary software systems and new customer products and services that meet these needs in a timely manner;
• successfully manage the impact on our business of any economic downturn generally and in the advertising market in particular;
• successfully manage the impact on costs of data collection due to lower respondent cooperation in surveys, privacy concerns, consumer trends, technology changes and/or government regulations;
• successfully develop and implement technology solutions to measure multi-media and advertising in an increasingly competitive environment; and
• successfully obtain and/or maintain Media Rating Council accreditation for our audience measurement services
Additional important factors known to Arbitron that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements are identified and discussed from time to time in Arbitron’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, in particular, the risk factors discussed under the caption “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS” in Arbitron’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.
The forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date hereof, and Arbitron undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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