Arbitron PPM Sample Size Metrics Hit New Highs in January 2010

COLUMBIA, Md., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arbitron, Inc. (NYSE: ARB) announced today that it met or exceeded substantially all of its sample size metrics across the 33 PPM currency markets in the January 2010 Portable People Meter™ (PPM™) survey.  The average Designated Delivery Index (DDI) for Persons aged 6+ was 109 in January and 104 for Persons aged 18-54 across the 33 PPM currency markets.  

The company achieved a new high of a 98 DDI for Black Persons aged 18-34 in January*. The January average DDI across the 33 PPM currency markets was 94 for all Persons aged 18-34; 91 among Hispanic persons aged 18-34* and 94 for Other Persons (not Black and not Hispanic) aged 18-34.

*Average among 33 PPM Currency, 19 markets for black, 22 markets for Hispanic and 14 markets for language preference.

Compliance and Response Rates Reach New Highs and Exceed Company Benchmarks

Arbitron reached new highs for average daily in-tab rate in January 2010. The January 2010 average in-tab rate reached a new high of 82 percent for Persons aged 6+ across the 33 PPM currency markets exceeding the Company's benchmark of 75 percent by a significant margin

The average in-tab rate for the Persons aged 18-34 demos reached new high marks and exceeded the 70 percent Company benchmark.  The average in-tab rate was 78 percent for all Persons aged 18-34 in January 2010.  For Black Persons aged 18-34 the average in-tab rate was 75 percent and the average in-tab rate was 80 percent for Hispanic Persons aged 18-34.

The 33 PPM currency market average SPI in January 2010 was 22.3 percent. That is a 25 percent increase over the 14-market average from the same month last year (19.7 percent).

About SPI 

(Sample Performance Indicator) SPI is a longitudinal response metric for electronic panels that measure radio and television. For PPM, the average daily persons SPI each month shows the percent of total persons in the original, pre-designated random sample who have provided fault free data for at least eight hours on a given day (five hours among persons aged 6-17). SPI is calculated for each of the 28 days in a PPM survey and it is averaged for the reporting period.

About Designated Delivery Index 

Designated Delivery Index or DDI is the actual sample size for a given demographic divided by the target sample size for the demographic (multiplied by 100). A DDI of 100 means that Arbitron achieved its sample target; a DDI of greater than 100 means that Arbitron exceeded its sample goal.

About the Portable People Meter 

The Arbitron Portable People Meter(TM) 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(TM) 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 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 device, a new technology for media and marketing research.

Portable People Meter™ and PPM™ 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.