NEW YORK --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 11, 2006 -- Multi-Year Data Services Contract Includes Provision for Use of PPM-Based Radio Estimates Pending Arbitron Deployment of Electronic Audience Measurement Service

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) announced today that the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), one of the top advertising and media services companies, has signed a contract with Arbitron to use its Portable People Meter (PPM(SM)) based radio audience estimates when Arbitron makes a decision to deploy its state of the art audience measurement service.

"Through this agreement, we are adding our dollars as well as our voice to the growing chorus of advocates for the Portable People Meter system in radio," said Susan Nathan, senior vice president, Director of Media Knowledge, Universal McCann. "It's time for the radio industry to embrace electronic measurement so that it can be more accountable to advertisers. When Arbitron says they and the industry are ready to go with PPM, we'll be the first to switch to Portable People Meter audience estimates in order to plan and buy radio."

"Advertisers and agencies recognize that electronic measurement is imperative for radio," said Pierre Bouvard, president, Sales and Marketing, Arbitron. "As we get closer to a decision regarding the deployment of the Portable People Meter in the U.S. media marketplace, the companies that use radio to deliver advertising messages to consumers are starting to convert their positive words into solid commitments to embrace the Arbitron PPM."

The agreement covers the US-based radio planning and buying activities of IPG companies including: Campbell-Ewald; Campbell Mithun; Carmichael Lynch; Dailey & Associates; Deutsch; Foote Cone & Belding; Gotham Inc; Hill, Holliday, Connors Cosmopolus; Howard Merrell & Associates; ID Media; Initiative; Jay Advertising; The Martin Agency; Mullen; Siboney; Tierney Communications and Universal McCann.

This agreement with IPG does not commit Arbitron to a specific timetable for deployment of the Portable People Meter system. Arbitron has not yet made a decision regarding when and for which markets it will deploy the Portable People Meter system to measure local market radio audiences.

Arbitron is evaluating two approaches for the commercialization of the Portable People Meter system. Arbitron granted Nielsen Media Research an option to join in the potential commercial deployment of the Portable People Meter for audience measurement in the United States. In the event that Nielsen Media Research exercises the option, the Arbitron and Nielsen would form a joint venture to commercially deploy and operate the Portable People Meter system for the collection and measurement of listening and viewing audience data in local markets for broadcast and cable television as well as for radio.

In the event that Nielsen Media Research chooses not to exercise its option to form a joint venture with Arbitron to use the PPM technology for radio and television audience measurement, Arbitron intends to offer a PPM service for audience measurement to the radio industry.

About Interpublic

Interpublic (NYSE: IPG) is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing-services companies. Major global brands include Draft, Foote Cone & Belding Worldwide, FutureBrand, GolinHarris International, Initiative, Jack Morton Worldwide, Lowe Worldwide, MAGNA Global, McCann Erickson, Octagon, Universal McCann and Weber Shandwick. Leading domestic brands include Campbell-Ewald, Deutsch and Hill Holliday.

About Arbitron

Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) 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. The Company has also developed the Portable People Meter (PPM), a new technology for media and marketing research.

Arbitron's marketing and business units are supported by its research and technology organization, located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 1,700 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, magazine, newspaper and online industries.

PPM(SM) is a service mark of Arbitron Inc.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements regarding Arbitron in this document that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes" or "plans," or comparable terminology, are forward-looking statements based on current expectations about future events, which Arbitron has derived from information currently available to it. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our results to be materially different from results implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include whether we will be able to:

-- renew all or part of contracts with large customers as they expire;

-- successfully execute our business strategies, including implementation of our Portable People Meter services and to execute potential joint venture or third party agreements;

-- effectively manage the impact of any further consolidation in the radio and advertising agency industries;

-- keep up with rapidly changing technological needs of our customer base, including creating new proprietary software systems and new customer products and services that meet these needs in a timely manner;

-- successfully manage the impact on our business of any economic downturn generally and in the advertising market in particular; and

-- successfully manage the impact on costs of data collection due to privacy concerns, technology changes and/or government regulations.

Additional important factors known to Arbitron that could cause forward-looking statements to turn out to be incorrect are identified and discussed from time to time in Arbitron's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in particular the risk factors discussed under the caption "ITEM 1. BUSINESS - Business Risks" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date hereof, and Arbitron undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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