Arbitron Launches New Webcast Profile Service

Arbitron (www.arbitron.com) announced its new webcast measurement service that gathers audience demographics of individual streaming media channels. The service was tested on NetRadio earlier this year, where the results showed that its listeners were "well-educated, upscale and Internet-savvy."

Other information that was discovered: Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of NetRadio's audience graduated college or have post-graduate degrees and one in five (19 percent) live in homes with more than $100,000 annual income. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of NetRadio's listeners made 10 or more online purchases in the past year, with the majority (72 percent), spending $100 or more online in the past 12 months. NetRadio's audience uses the Internet for an average of three hours per day and more than half (55 percent) tune in while at work.

Arbitron's new service called "Webcast Audience Profile" uses a pop-up survey on webcasters' sites to gather demographic, socio-economic and Internet usage information. The profile for NetRadio NetRadio (www.NetRadio.com) was conducted in March and April 2001 through randomly selected listeners of NetRadio's online audio channels. Each participant received a survey with questions to answer. About 4,000 NetRadio listeners participated in this survey.

This kind of data is similar to the kind that rival Measurecast has been delivering for months. According to Measurecast spokesperson Sven Haarhoff, it supplies next day demographic information to its clients. "Clients can log on 24 hours afterwards to get information," he said.

Unlike Arbitron's survey method, Measurecast uses a panel of 50,000 people, which Haarhoff said is "representative of the entire streaming media universe. We continuously track listeners, rather than just poll one time, because with a panel, we can track to see what sites they're hitting over time," said Haarhoff.

"Being able to offer advertisers our audience profile from an objective, third-party source is vital for both us and the streaming media industry in general," said Stephen F. Holderman, executive vice president, NetRadio. "Our audience has a high level of disposable income and spends a significant amount of time online. They are less likely to be exposed to print or television advertising during the workday since most tuning occurs in the work place. Arbitron's Webcast Audience Profile provides powerful and credible evidence that NetRadio reaches a highly desirable consumer target for advertisers."

Arbitron and NetRadio said this is a way to bring highly targeted ads to listeners. "It is crucial for webcasters to have demographic, socio-economic and Internet usageprofiles of their streaming media audience," said Bill Rose, general manager and vice president, Arbitron Webcast Services.

The new profile service will be available as part of Arbitron's overall Webcast Ratings.