Arbitron and TNS Sign Multi-Country License Agreement for Portable People Meter Technology
NEW YORK (Dec. 17, 2003) -- Arbitron Inc. has signed a license agreement with TNS, a marketing information and television audience measurement company. The agreement formalizes the companies' relationship and gives TNS the right to use the Portable People Meter system and its audio encoding technology for radio and television audience measurement in selected countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
"As the media environment becomes increasingly more complex, broadcasters and advertisers around the world need better measures of radio and television audiences," said Mike Gorton, Worldwide Sector Head for Audience Measurement, TNS. "The Portable People Meter, together with its audio encoding technology, provides one of the most reliable and versatile solutions to this challenge."
"Arbitron and TNS have been working together to market the PPM around the world for nearly four years," added Steve Morris, president and chief executive officer, Arbitron Inc. "This agreement formalizes our relationship and is another important step in establishing the Arbitron Portable People Meter as a future-proof solution for tracking television and radio audiences around the world."
About the Portable People Meter
Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) system uses a pager-size audience measurement device to track radio listening as well as television, cable and satellite television viewing. The PPM is carried throughout the day by survey participants, tracking the television programs they watch and the radio stations they listen to by detecting inaudible codes embedded by broadcasters. At the end of the day, the meter is placed in a docking station that extracts the channel codes and sends the audience data to a central computer.
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About TNS
TNS is one of the world's leading market information groups. We provide market measurement, analysis and insight through our global network of operating companies in 70 countries. Working with national and multi-national organisations, we help our clients to develop effective business strategies and enhance relationships with their customers. In July 2003, the group completed the acquisition of NFO WorldGroup, Inc.
About Arbitron
Arbitron Inc. is an international media and marketing research firm serving radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertisers, advertising agencies and outdoor advertising companies in the United States, Mexico and Europe. 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. Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services measures the audiences of audio and video content on the Internet, commonly known as webcasts. The Company is developing the Portable People Meter, a new technology for radio, television and cable ratings.
Arbitron's marketing and business units are supported by a world-renowned research and technology organization located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 825 full-time employees; its executive offices are located in New York City.
Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU, Inc., Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, cable, magazine, newspaper, outdoor and online industries.
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