New York - Jan 29, 2007 - In March 2006, Arbitron decided to wait until it received MRC accreditation for the PPM radio ratings service in Houston before it would discontinue the diaries and make the PPM the main radio ratings service in Houston. The Media Rating Council (MRC) has recently accredited the Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings data in Houston. With this accreditation, Arbitron now will meet with radio broadcasters, agencies and advertisers to determine a schedule for commercializing the electronic radio ratings service in Houston.

Arbitron is currently conducting a Winter 2007 survey in Houston using its standard diary methodology. It intends to complete that diary survey and deliver a full suite of ratings reports for the Winter 2007 survey in April.

MRC accreditation means that the Houston PPM radio ratings service delivers radio audience estimates that meet the MRC's Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research. Accreditation helps ensure that audience measurement products are "valid, reliable and effective."