Arbitron

{{Infobox company | company_name = Arbitron Inc. | company_logo = | vector_logo = | company_type = Public | traded_as = | genre = | foundation = Washington, D.C. (1949) | founder = | location_city = Columbia, Maryland | location_country = | location = | origins = | key_people = Bill Kerr CEO | area_served = United States | industry = Media market (research) | products = ratings data | revenue = US$395M (FY 2010) | operating_income = US$65.7M (FY 2010) | equity = US$77.6M (FY 2010) Major ratings products include cume (the cumulative number of unique listeners over a period), average quarter hour (AQH Share - the average number of people listening in a given 15-minute period), time spent listening, (TSL), and market breakdowns by age, gender and race/ethnic demographic. It is important to understand that the "cume" only counts a listener once, whereas the AQH is a product of "cume" and time spent listening. For example, if you looked into a room and saw Fred and Jane, then 15 minutes later saw Fred with Sara. The "cume" would be 3 (Fred, Jane, Sara) and the AQH would be 2 (an average of two people in the room in a given 15 minute period).

Portable People Meter

Responding to requests from its customers — radio broadcasters, ad agencies and advertisers — that expressed their interest in the collection of more accurate ratings data, Arbitron introduced the Portable People Meter (PPM) service in 2007. The PPM is a wearable portable device much like a pager or cell phone, that electronically gathers inaudible codes that identify the source of a broadcast, such as a radio station. Arbitron recruits and compensates a cross section of consumers to wear the meter for an average of one year and up to two years. The audience estimates generated from each monthly survey is used as the buy/sell currency for radio stations and advertisers/agencies. As of December 2009, the PPM is the currency in thirty three markets including:Houston, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Long Island, Middlesex-Somerset-Union, Chicago, Los Angeles, Riverside-San Bernardino, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Baltimore, and San Jose. By year end 2010, 48 markets will be measured using the PPM.

See also

Nielsen ratings (for television programs)

Time spent listening, one of the metrics measured

List of United States radio markets

Radio & Records, periodical which published Arbitron data for commercial stations

Radio Research Consortium, non-profit corporation which publishes Arbitron data for non-commercial stations

The Media Audit

References

External links

Arbitron Official website

Ratings - Persons 12+ from Arbitron for commercial stations

Ratings - Persons 12+ from FMQB for commercial stations

Ratings - Persons 12+ from Radio and Records for commercial stations

List of U.S. Radio Markets (ranked by size)

Nationwide Radio Reference Guide

DFWRadioArchives - contains historical Arbitron ratings data for Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

Audio interview of Ernest H. Clay, ARB's Research and Production Director on WGN's discussion show Your Right To Say It

Category:Companies based in Washington, D.C. Category:Audience measurement Category:Marketing research companies of the United States