Arbitron CEO Testifies at House Judiciary Hearing

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

Arbitron President/CEO Michael Skarzynski testified before Congress on Thursday regarding PPM and the controversy surrounding measurement of Black and Hispanic-owned broadcasters. During his testimony, he said that similar to the television industry, radio broadcasters and advertisers have made it clear that for radio to survive, it must have electronic measurement that PPM can provide.

"In addition to these pressures, radio broadcasters are now forced to compete with a host of new audio delivery platforms, including podcasting and Internet streaming. These new media have the inherent ability to measure themselves electronically," he said.

"Arbitron's Portable People Meter or PPM is our company's innovative solution to address that need. Arbitron has spent over 16 years developing the PPM with input from a wide variety of industry players including the NAB, radio broadcasters and ad agencies.

Skarzynski noted that Arbitron has been, and continues to be, engaged and involved with members of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the Spanish Radio Association to address their concerns and discuss improvements to the PPM measurement service.

"With inputs from our customers, Arbitron is implementing several improvements to our PPM service including: Expanding cell-phone only sampling, adding country of origin sampling and working to increase participation of Black and Hispanic panelists by providing one-on-one coaching, and adding recruitment incentives and retention bonuses."

"In summary, Arbitron is committed to working with all stakeholders in the radio industry to help radio broadcasters -- especially Black and Hispanic owned broadcasters -- survive and prosper in the face of this perfect storm of economic and financial challenges," he concluded, adding "Arbitron will work with all industry stakeholders to demonstrate the value of radio in today's competitive media marketplace."