PPM Trials in France

Arbitron has announced that Médiamétrie-the provider of TV, radio, Internet and cinema audience measurement in France-has signed a license agreement that will enable the company to evaluate Arbitron's Portable People Meter system in Paris.

The Portable People Meter (PPM) is a new technology being developed by Arbitron that can measure audiences of cable and satellite television broadcasts as well as broadcasts from terrestrial, satellite and Internet radio stations. It is currently undergoing a U.S. market trial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has been selected as a media measurement tool in a number of countries around the world.

The two-year agreement will enable Médiamétrie to evaluate the PPM encoding system and the willingness of Parisians to keep the pager-sized PPM device with them as they go about their daily routines. Médiamétrie will also appraise the radio and television ratings from the PPM and compare the ratings to the current audience measurement systems -set-top people meters for TV and day-after telephone recall for radio-usage in Paris.

'The Portable People Meter can give Médiamétrie an ideal measurement solution for multiple media, which will help them meet the needs of their key customers-television and radio,' said Steve Morris, president and chief executive officer, Arbitron Inc. 'We look forward to working with them to establish the Portable People Meter as the audience measurement methodology of choice for the dynamic French media marketplace.'

Jacqueline Aglietta, chairman and managing director, Médiamétrie, added 'This agreement offers Médiamétrie an excellent opportunity to confirm its interest in a new concept of television and radio audience measurement. We always work to provide our customers with audience measurement based on the most advanced technologies available. The opportunity to evaluate the Portable People Meter shows Médiamétrie's willingness to anticipate media clients' needs, in terms of audience measurement, that will allow them to know the public's behaviour.'

France joins a growing number of countries around the world that currently use or have agreed to evaluate the Arbitron PPM technology, including:

• BBM Canada will begin measuring French-language television audiences in Montreal and Quebec with the PPM beginning in the fourth quarter of 2003.
  
• Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) has been using Arbitron's encoding technology to provide television ratings in Singapore for the past three years. TNS is also installing a PPM panel in Belgium for cross-media analysis of Flemish public radio and TV audiences. In addition, TNS and Arbitron are exploring opportunities in other countries around the world.
  
• Intomart, a Dutch company, and N.V. Audimetrie, a Belgian company, have licenses to use Arbitron's encoding technology in set-top audience measurement meters.
  
• IBOPE Media Information has a license to evaluate the Portable People Meter technology in five countries in Latin America.
  
• RAJAR, in the United Kingdom, is currently evaluating the PPM for radio audience measurement in Britain.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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