Arbitron Expands and Enhances Radio Advisory Council to Better Reflect Industry Priorities

COLUMBIA, Md., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) today announced that it is expanding and enhancing its Arbitron Radio Advisory Council. The Arbitron Radio Advisory Council will add new positions for Network Radio, Digital Radio and Public Radio and expanded representation for Diary markets, and Urban and Spanish Language broadcasters. The meetings are expected to include regular joint sessions with Arbitron's Advertiser/Agency Council and dedicated tracks to solicit customer feedback on issues specific to Portable People Meter™ (PPM™) and Diary markets.

New positions:  Arbitron is adding new Council representatives to reflect a more diverse group of customers and the changing radio landscape:

• One seat each added for Network Radio, Digital Radio, and Public Radio;
• Four additional slots for Diary markets to place greater focus on mid-sized and smaller markets.  
• Urban and Spanish Language representatives expanded from one to two seats each.

Meeting enhancements: Arbitron also plans several enhancements intended to make the meetings more productive.

• Dedicated tracks for both PPM and Diary added to concentrate on issues and priorities specific to the needs of customers in those markets.  
• Regular joint sessions between the Radio and Agency/Advertiser Councils to encourage dialogue between buyers and sellers.  
• More open, interactive and positive dialogue centered on improving communication and enhancing industry partnership.

William T. Kerr, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arbitron Inc., said of these changes, "The enhancements that we are making to the Radio Advisory Council reflect the evolving nature of the media industry. The representatives serve as valuable customer advocates and their input helps Arbitron align our plans with industry priorities. I look forward to our new meeting format, where I hope to engage in an open, two-way dialogue that will move the industry forward."

All current and recently-elected members of the Advisory Council will continue with their terms and Arbitron is inviting respected industry representatives to fill the newly created seats.  

The Spring 2010 Radio Advisory Council meeting will be held May 11-12 in Annapolis, MD. The Fall 2010 dates and venue are being planned now.  

About the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council:  

The Arbitron Radio Advisory Council was founded 30+ years ago to provide valuable client feedback and advice to Arbitron. Over the years, the Council has encouraged Arbitron to introduce several important service and quality improvements including increases in Diary and PPM sample sizes, implementation of Cell Phone sampling, and the introduction of sample quality benchmarks.  

The Council's mission is to provide a forum for industry leaders to inform Arbitron's senior management about the priorities, key business drivers and issues that are important to radio and advertising customers; Provide feedback about how Arbitron's services and policies can be better aligned with customer needs; Advise how Arbitron can enhance its communication and partnership initiatives; and Review and discuss the implications of services, policies or methods that may impact its customers.  

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is a media and marketing research firm serving the media – radio, television, cable, online radio and out-of-home – as well as advertisers and advertising agencies. 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 developed the Portable People Meter, a new technology for media and marketing research.

Portable People Meter(TM) and PPM(TM) are marks of Arbitron Inc.

PPM ratings are based on audience estimates and are the opinion of Arbitron and should not be relied on for precise accuracy or precise representativeness of a demographic or radio market.

Arbitron Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including the statements regarding expectations for 2010 and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, may be "forward-looking" statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, the current global economic recession and the upheaval in the credit markets and financial services industry, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and technologies, our ability to successfully commercialize our Portable People Meter™ service, the growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, our ability to expand our business in new markets, our ability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate appropriate acquisitions, the impact of increased costs of data collection including a trend toward increasing incidence of cell phone-only households, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property matters, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations and changes in applicable laws and regulations, our ability to achieve projected efficiencies, cost reductions, sales growth and earnings, and international economic, political, legal and business factors. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Arbitron Inc.