Arbitron TV, Cable and Radio Audience Meter Passes Important U.S. Test Milestone; Positive Results Are a Green Light For Expanded Portable People Meter Market Trial.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 2001 Arbitron Arbitron (NYSE: ARB) is a radio audience research company in the United States which collects listener data on radio audiences similar to that collected by Nielsen Media Research on television audiences. Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : ARB) has released the first ratings results for its new television, cable and radio audience measurement system, the Portable People Meter The Portable People Meter (sometimes mistakenly "Personal People Meter") or PPM, is a device developed by Arbitron to measure how many people are listening (or at least exposed) to individual radio stations and television stations, including cable TV. (PPM). Compared to ratings reported by current TV and radio audience measurement systems, the Portable People Meter is reporting higher total-day average quarter-hour audiences for television and cable and equivalent total-day average quarter-hour audiences for radio. "Based on these first ratings results as well as the meter system performance, and the participation of consumers, we are moving forward with the next phase of the U.S. market trial," said Marshall Snyder, president, Worldwide PPM Development, Arbitron Inc. "We will be talking with our customers and Nielsen Media Research about our schedule going forward. "The ratings results are logical when you consider the audience measurement capabilities designed into the PPM," continued Snyder. "It is the first electronic measurement device that automatically collects a person's exposure to encoded radio, TV and cable programming no matter when and where it occurs. The PPM eliminates the need for people to constantly track their listening or viewing behavior by writing something down in a diary. "We are encouraged by these first comparisons because we've also seen that the encoding system In a digital system, a method of assigning binary codes to represent characters of data. See ASCII, 7-bit ASCII, EBCDIC, Unicode, UTF, MIME, BinHex, quoted printable encoding, UUcoding, ASN.1 and cryptography. works as designed - broadcasters and cable networks can and do encode (1) To assign a code to represent data, such as a parts code. Contrast with decode. (2) To convert from one format or signal to another. See codec and D/A converter. (3) The term is sometimes erroneously used for "encrypt. their audio on a continuing basis and the meters readily detect the inaudible codes," said Snyder. "We have also been able to recruit and maintain a panel of consumers who are representative of the market we are measuring and who, on average, carry their meters for more than 15 hours a day." The Portable People Meter has been undergoing U.S. market trials within the Philadelphia TV market since December of 2000. The PPM is a pager-sized device that is carried by consumers. It automatically detects inaudible codes that TV and radio broadcasters as well as cable networks embed em·bed also im·bed v. em·bed·ded, em·bed·ding, em·beds v.tr. 1. To fix firmly in a surrounding mass: embed a post in concrete; fossils embedded in shale. in the audio portion of their programming using encoders provided by Arbitron. At the end of each day, the participants place the meters into base stations that recharge re·charge tr.v. re·charged, re·charg·ing, re·charg·es To charge again, especially to reenergize a storage battery. re the device and send the collected codes to Arbitron for tabulation tab·u·late tr.v. tab·u·lat·ed, tab·u·lat·ing, tab·u·lates 1. To arrange in tabular form; condense and list. 2. To cut or form with a plane surface. adj. Having a plane surface. . The meters are equipped with a motion sensor A device that measures or detects a real-world condition, such as motion, heat or light and converts the condition into an analog or digital representation. An optical sensor detects the intensity or brightness of light, or the intensity of red, green and blue for color systems. that allows Arbitron to monitor the compliance of all panel members every day - a quality control feature that is unique to the Arbitron Portable People Meter in the realm of media research. Summary of Ratings Results On a 24-hour day, total-week basis, the Portable People Meter is reporting higher average quarter-hour audiences for all the combined electronic media. Compared to existing methods of measuring media audiences, the PPM reports increased average quarter-hour audiences for broadcast TV and cable and equivalent average quarter-hour audiences for radio.
Average Quarter-Hour (AQH) Ratings
Persons 12+
Encoded Media Outlets(1)
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Radio:
Arbitron Diary
Wilmington Metro
Monday-Sunday, Portable People Meter Broadcast TV and Cable:
Total Day Wilmington Radio Metro Nielsen Media Research
Philadelphia DMA(R)
May 2001
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Combined Media 23.1 20.9
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Broadcast TV 11.9(4) 10.9(5)
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Cable 2.1(4) 1.0(5)
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Radio 9.1(2) 9.0(3)
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1. 35 radio stations, 8 broadcast TV stations and 8 cable outlets were
encoded during the respective reported time periods.
2. Estimates for May 24, 2001 - June 20, 2001.
3. Arbitron Wilmington Metro Estimates, Spring 2001
(March 29, 2001 - June 20, 2001).
4. Estimates for April 26, 2001 - May 23, 2001.
5. Nielsen Media Research Meter-Diary Integrated May 2001 Estimates
for the Philadelphia DMA.
For radio, the PPM is reporting an increase in average daily cumulative audience: 75.9 percent for the PPM vs. 66.0 percent for the radio diary. The PPM is also showing a reduction in time spent listening Time spent listening (TSL) is one of the measurements surveyed by Arbitron in determining ratings for radio stations in the U.S.. The TSL is the amount of time the average listener surveyed spent listening to each radio station at one time, before changing the station or for radio: 2 hours and 12 minutes for the PPM vs. 2 hours and 30 minutes for the diary, per day. The PPM is also reporting shifts in listening patterns by daypart. Morning-drive AQH AQH Average Quarter Hour (radio ratings) AQH American Quarter Horse AQH Average Quarter of an Hour (advertising) ratings are down according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the PPM, while Monday-Friday overnight and weekend AQH audience levels are up. For broadcast TV and cable, the PPM is reporting higher AQH audiences for all dayparts. These increases are due in part to increased broadcast TV and cable viewing for men (18+) and people under age 35 and the PPM's ability to track viewing out of home.
Average Quarter-Hour (AQH) Ratings
Persons 12+
Encoded Media Outlets(1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday- Radio Broadcast Combined Media
Sunday TV and Cable
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PPM(2) Arbitron PPM(4) Nielsen PPM Existing(3,5)
Wilmington Phila. DMA
SP01(3) May 01(5)
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5A-10A 10.2 11.7 8.5 6.9 18.7 18.6
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10A-4P 14.2 15.1 9.3 7.5 23.5 22.6
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4P-8P 11.1 10.7 19.3 17.8 30.4 28.5
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8P-Mid 5.3 4.6 31.9 29.8 37.2 34.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid-5A 3.4 1.2 6.5 3.2 9.9 4.4
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1. 35 radio stations, 8 broadcast TV stations and 8 cable outlets were
encoded during the respective reported time periods.
2. Estimates for May 24, 2001 - June 20, 2001.
3. Arbitron Wilmington Metro Estimates, Spring 2001
(March 29, 2001 - June 20, 2001).
4. Estimates for April 26, 2001 - May 23, 2001.
5. Nielsen Media Research Meter-Diary Integrated May 2001 Estimates
for the Philadelphia DMA.
Methodology All PPM ratings results cited in this release are for the 35 radio stations, eight TV stations and eight cable networks that were encoding See encode. their audio signals in April, May and June 2001. The ratings results cited in the release for the Arbitron radio diary system and the Nielsen meter-diary system are for the same radio stations, TV stations and cable networks. Audiences for stations and cable networks that were not encoding in April, May and June are not included in these comparisons. About Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research, Inc. has an option to join Arbitron in the commercial deployment of the Arbitron Portable People Meter in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Nielsen is providing financial support and its television survey research expertise in this trial of the Portable People Meter. About Arbitron Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research firm serving radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertisers and advertising agencies in the United States and Europe. Arbitron's core businesses are measuring radio audiences in local markets 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. Arbitron Webcast Services measures the audiences of audio and video content on the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the , commonly known as webcasts. The Company is developing the Portable People Meter, a new technology for radio, TV and cable ratings. Arbitron's marketing and business units are supported by a world-renowned research and technology organization located in Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place and planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore, and, to a lesser degree, Washington, DC. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. . Arbitron has approximately 750 full-time employees; its executive offices are located in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU VNU Volontaires des Nations Unies (French) VNU Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeversbedrijven (Dutch) VNU Virtual Network User Media Measurement & Information, Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, magazine, newspaper, outdoor and online industries. DMA (1) (Digital Media Adapter) See digital media hub. (2) (Document Management Alliance) A specification that provides a common interface for accessing and searching document databases. (R) is a registered service mark of Nielsen Media Research, Inc., and is used pursuant to a license from Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All product names used are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. This press release is available on the Arbitron Web site at www.arbitron.com and the KCSA KCSA Krannert Center Student Association KCSA Kentucky Crushed Stone Association (Frankfort, KY) KCSA Kyiv City State Administration KCSA Kalamazoo Christian School Association KCSA Kentucky-Canadian Studies Association Web site at www.kcsa.com This press release contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. The statements regarding Arbitron in this release 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 the 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: - realize the benefits we expect to achieve from our spin-off from Ceridian Corporation; - renew contracts with large customers as they expire; - successfully execute our business strategies, including timely implementation of our Portable People Meter and our Webcast Ratings services, as well as expansion of international operations; - benefit from further consolidation in the radio industry; and - keep up with rapidly changing technological needs of our customer base, including creating new products and services that meet these needs. Additional important factors known to Arbitron that could cause forward-looking statements to turn out to be incorrect 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 1. BUSINESS - Business Risks" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. , which discussion is incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date hereof here·of adv. Of this. hereof Adverb Formal or law of or concerning this Adv. 1. hereof - of or concerning this; "the twigs hereof are physic" , and Arbitron undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. EDITOR'S NOTE Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : There will be a media teleconference/webcast presentation today at 1 p.m. (EDT EDT abbr. Eastern Daylight Time EDT Eastern Daylight Time EDT n abbr (US) (= Eastern Daylight Time) → hora de verano de Nueva York EDT ). For additional information, please call KCSA Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most Worldwide at 212-682-6300. |
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