Arbitron Enhances PPM To Distinguish Between In-the-Home & Out-of-Home Media Exposure.

Arbitron Inc. will enhance its Portable People Meter (PPM) system—an electronic audience measurement system—to include the ability to distinguish between in-home and out-of-home media exposure.

The PPM is the only electronic audience measurement system currently designed to track exposure to television and radio both in and out of the home. The enhanced PPM system employs radio frequency codes transmitted at very low levels by the PPM household collector to determine if consumers are in their homes or outside their homes when watching broadcast and cable television or listening to radio.

Arbitron will also add two new features to the PPM, which are important for the requirements of audience measurement in international markets. The company will offer a wireless Global System for Mobile (GSM) modem, in lieu of the existing landline modem, to accommodate the increasing penetration of homes with only a wireless phone. In addition, Arbitron will offer a portable recharger, which allows the PPM to store multiple days of media exposure data.

“The PPM system is demonstrating its capacity to adapt continually to the needs of media companies, agencies and advertisers around the world,” said Jay Guyther, senior vice president, International Marketing, Arbitron. “The ability to report when media exposure takes place in-home or out-of-home adds an exclusive new dimension to our single-source, multiple media audience measurement system.

“A GSM modem enables the PPM system to measure households that do not have landline telephone service,” said Mr. Guyther. “The recharger allows the PPM to be carried by respondents for extended periods. This means the PPM can be deployed in more flexible sample designs independent of the PPM household components that we designed for panel-based research.”

All three new features will be integrated into the PPM system in early 2004.