Arbitron to delay commercialization of PPM in NY, LA, Chicago San Francisco and Dallas.

Arbitron Inc. announced that it will delay the commercialization of its Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings service in nine markets. New York, Nassau–Suffolk and Middlesex–Somerset–Union will be delayed by nine months; Los Angeles, Riverside and Chicago by six months; and San Francisco, San Jose and Dallas by three months.

In these nine markets, the Company will extend the use of the paper and pencil diary system that has been serving the industry since 1965. During the delay, Arbitron will continue to work with customers, the Media Rating Council, other industry organizations and community groups on the research and business issues related to the Portable People Meter radio ratings service in local markets.

“We remain confident in the audience estimates that the Portable People Meter service is producing. However, over the past three weeks, feedback from our customers, the Media Rating Council and other constituencies has led us to conclude that the radio industry would be better served if we were to delay further commercialization of the PPM in order to address their issues,” said Steve Morris, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Arbitron Inc.

“We already have a number of initiatives in the pipeline for implementation in the first quarter of 2008 that we believe will improve the performance of our PPM samples. Our intention is to expand significantly this list of improvement initiatives by working closely with customers, industry organizations and community groups. We expect that the Media Rating Council will be a particularly valuable source of guidance and advice on the more technically oriented aspects of this review and improvement process and we intend to work closely with the members of the MRC over the next several months,” said Mr. Morris.

“We also plan to use the additional time to work closely with community leaders to review the workings of the Portable People Meter service and to gather their insights as to how we might improve compliance among persons 18-34, including ethnic young adults, across the diverse communities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and subsequent markets,” said Mr. Morris.