Arbitron Custom Sports Study Finds the Run Up to the Super Bowl boosts Sports Radio audiences in Indianapolis and Chicago.

Local radio coverage of NFL classic reaches one third of Indianapolis adults and one quarter of adults in Chicago

Super Bowl parties with friends and family boost out-of-home television viewing

NEW YORK -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) has unveiled a custom sports study that profiles how adults aged 18 and older in Indianapolis and Chicago listened to and watched Super Bowl XLI on radio and television.

While the Super Bowl is a quintessential media event across the country, in the hometowns of the AFC and NFC contenders, Indianapolis fans bested their Chicago rivals in interest, attention and share of media coverage.

Radio benefits from the run up to the big game

While a big event in both markets, a greater share of residents in Indianapolis expressed interest in the contest compared to their rivals in Chicago. Half of adults in Indianapolis followed the pre-game coverage 'very closely' (surprisingly, 49 percent of women and 50 percent of men) compared to 29 percent of adults in Chicago (23 percent of women and 35 percent of men).

Sports/talk radio was a big beneficiary of the run up to the game. More than half of the adults in both cities (54 percent in Indy and 52 percent in Chicago) said that they listened to sports/talk radio in the week before the game. Of those listeners, 37 percent said they listened 'a lot more.' In Chicago, an equivalent share of adults listened (53 percent), but only 14 percent said 'a lot more.'

On the radio with Super Bowl XLI

Radio reaped its greatest benefit from the pre-game and post-game coverage of the Super Bowl:

* More than one third (35 percent) of Indianapolis adults and one quarter (24 percent) of Chicago adults listened to pre-game, game or post-game coverage of the Super Bowl on the radio.

* Almost one in four adults (22 percent) in Indianapolis and nearly one in six (16 percent) in Chicago listened to pre-game coverage on the radio.

* Nine percent of Indianapolis adults and seven percent of Chicago adults said they listened to any part of the game play-by-play on the radio.

* Naturally, post-game interest was higher in the winning town. While 22 percent of adults in Indianapolis listened to post-game coverage on the radio, only 10 percent in Chicago stuck with the game post-mortems.

Watching the big game in and out of home

No surprise: 93 percent of Indianapolis adults and 82 percent of Chicago adults watched some part of the pre-game, game and post-game coverage on television:

* 30 percent of Indianapolis adults watched the Super Bowl outside their own home, 92 percent of the out-of-home viewing was at a friend's or family member's home. Only 6 percent was in a bar or restaurant.

* 28 percent of Chicago adults watched the Super Bowl outside their own home, 76 percent of Chicago's out-of-home viewing was at a friend's or family member's home. Nine percent was in a bar or restaurant.

* 39 percent of Indianapolis adults paid 'very close attention' to the television commercials compared to 37 percent of Chicago adults.

Cashing in on fan fervor

Sports fans everywhere love to show their team colors. For the big game, even casual fans will don a team jersey or scarf:

* 63 percent of Indianapolis adults wore Colts clothing in the week prior to the game to show their support for the team. Only 41 percent of Chicago adults were as fashion forward.

* Team loyalty translates into sponsor loyalty. Among those who followed Super Bowl coverage 'very closely', one half (48 percent) of Colts fans and one quarter (25 percent) of Bears fans said they would be more likely to buy from a company sponsoring the team

"Custom studies can unlock a wealth of information about market specific media and consumer behavior," said Mason Meyer, manager, Custom Sports Sales, Arbitron Inc. "Chicago has a reputation for being a sports-savvy town, but for this one event, Indianapolis fans showed more fervor than the big city residents. That's why our custom sports research is an excellent tool for marketers who are trying to understand the media value and consumer preferences of fans in all major sports."

About the Custom Sports Study

These custom estimates are based on listening, viewing and consumer information reported during telephone interviews with persons 18 years of age and older in the Indianapolis and Chicago radio metros. The survey was conducted on Monday, February 5, 2007. This custom study is part of Arbitron's new Custom Sports Ratings service. Arbitron conducts Custom Sports studies for a wide variety of sporting events including Major League Baseball, National Basket Ball Association as well as National Football League broadcasts. For sales information, contact Mason Meyer at 443-259-7575 or via email at [e-mail].

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(SM)), 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 1,900 employees; its executive offices are located in New York City.

Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with The Nielsen Company, Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, magazine, newspaper and online industries.

Portable People Meter(TM) is a mark of Arbitron Inc.