COLUMBIA, Md., Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) and Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) have signed a multi-year agreement for Arbitron diary and Portable People Meter™ (PPM^®) radio ratings services covering all 450 Cumulus stations in the 100 Cumulus radio markets currently surveyed by Arbitron.

The agreement provides Cumulus stations in 44 diary markets access to the Arbitron radio ratings service for the first time in more than three years. It also renews ratings agreements in 17 PPM markets and 39 diary markets.

In addition to diary and PPM local market ratings, the agreement also provides Cumulus with access to Arbitron software applications, Scarborough consumer profile services, and national and network radio ratings for Cumulus Media Networks.

Cumulus has also agreed to collaborate with Arbitron on cross-platform services that would quantify the total impact of the Cumulus radio brand.

"We are pleased to have Cumulus once again as a subscriber to Arbitron's radio ratings services in each of its Arbitron-measured markets," said Sean Creamer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arbitron Inc. "Cumulus is using multiple platforms to reach listeners and engage consumers and Arbitron has a robust suite of technologies and methodologies that we can leverage to help Cumulus demonstrate the power of its radio brand."

"With this agreement, Arbitron and Cumulus are demonstrating a long-term commitment to collaborate for the benefit of the radio industry," said Lew Dickey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cumulus. "We will work closely with Arbitron on its ongoing quality and service enhancement initiatives.  Specifically, we look forward to participating in the development of an integrated, total radio audience service that gives broadcasters full credit for our audiences regardless of how listeners access our content."

About Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) is the largest pure-play radio broadcaster in the United States with approximately 525 stations in 110 markets, a fully-distributed programming network serving more than 4,500 affiliates nationwide and SweetJack, the local deals platform that will serve 200 U.S. markets by the end of 2012. Cumulus strives to create the next generation radio broadcasting and digital enterprise based on great people and technological excellence. Cumulus provides high-quality local programming choices for listeners and advertisers, challenging career environments for employees and value opportunities for shareholders. For more information, visit cumulus.com.

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research firm serving the media–radio, television, cable and out-of-home; the mobile industry as well as advertising agencies and advertisers around the world. Arbitron businesses include: measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of U.S. consumers; providing mobile audience measurement and analytics in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, and developing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. The company has developed the Portable People Meter™ (PPM^®) and the PPM 360™, new technologies for media and marketing research.

Portable People Meter™, PPM® and PPM 360™ are marks of Arbitron Inc.
PPM ratings are based on audience estimates and are the opinion of Arbitron and should not be relied on for precise accuracy or precise representativeness of a demographic or radio market.

Statements in this release that are not strictly historical, including the statements regarding expectations for 2012 and any other statements regarding events or developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, may be "forward-looking" statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, the current global economic recession and the upheaval in the credit markets and financial services industry, competition, our ability to develop and successfully market new products and technologies, our ability to successfully commercialize our Portable People Meter service, the growth rates and cyclicality of markets we serve, our ability to expand our business in new markets, the possibility that the transaction with Nielsen will not close or that the closing may be delayed, the possibility that Arbitron may be unable to obtain stockholder approval as required for the transaction or that the other conditions to the closing of the transaction may not be satisfied, the transaction may involve unexpected costs, liabilities or delays, the outcome of any legal proceedings related to the transaction, the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the transaction agreement, general economic conditions; conditions in the markets Nielsen and Arbitron are engaged in, behavior of customers, suppliers and competitors (including their reaction to the transaction), technological developments, as well as legal and regulatory rules affecting Nielsen's and Arbitron's business, the impact of increased costs of data collection including a trend toward increasing incidence of cell phone-only households, litigation and other contingent liabilities including intellectual property matters, our compliance with applicable laws and regulations and changes in applicable laws and regulations, our ability to achieve projected efficiencies, cost reductions, sales growth and earnings, and international economic, political, legal and business factors. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in our SEC filings, including our 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Arbitron Inc.