Arbitron & Nielsen Media Research Expand Agreement For Testing Portable People Meter.

Arbitron Inc. and Nielsen Media Research announced an expansion of their agreement that increases Nielsen’s involvement in a joint research program to evaluate the Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM).

The two companies are exploring the feasibility of using the PPM as a data collection tool for television audience measurement. Arbitron and Nielsen first announced an agreement in June 2000 to test jointly the PPM in Philadelphia.
This latest agreement expands this relationship to include a number of research initiatives that will be supported, in part, by increasing the financial involvement and commitment of resources from Nielsen Media Research.

Said Steve Morris, president and chief executive officer, Arbitron Inc.: “In September of last year, I said that the two companies were negotiating an amendment to the existing agreement that would provide for further research and development of the Portable People Meter. Today, we are announcing an agreement that gives Nielsen a more active role in examining the outstanding methodological issues that we both agreed to address to make the PPM a more effective data collection tool.”
Said Susan Whiting, president and chief executive officer, Nielsen Media Research: “This agreement with Arbitron is a part of Nielsen Media Research’s ongoing program to improve the reliability of all of its measurement services. As part of this effort, Nielsen will increase its involvement in this joint research program with Arbitron by evaluating methods for improving response rates in the PPM sample, assessing its audio capabilities, and analyzing results from using both Nielsen and PPM meters in the same sample homes. Nielsen is committed to searching for new ideas to improve what we have and for alliances that can result in new approaches to audience measurement, even as we roll out significant improvements in the diary service, expand metered-market service, introduce people meters into the local currency, and expand our national sample.”