Arbitron Ratings and Research Data Usage Guidelines
Arbitron data, audience estimates, reports, services, systems, rankings, maps, software, information, or the like (in whole or in part) are protected under various U.S. Copyright laws, state trade secret laws, other state and federal laws, international treaties and international conventions. Any use of Arbitron’s intellectual property without our express permission is a violation of such rights. All rights not expressly granted are reserved by Arbitron.
Arbitron makes available limited AVERAGE QUARTER HOUR SHARE or CUME estimates for either Persons aged 6+ (Portable People MeterTM- based surveys) or Persons aged 12+ (diary-based surveys) for Monday through Sunday, 6AM to Midnight, for each of the monthly or quarterly surveys on http://www.arbitron.com/home/ratings.htm. Additional limited audience estimates may be provided upon request. Reporters who need additional local market radio ratings for a news story should call Kim Myers at (410) 312-8500 or e-mail a request to press@arbitron.com
Fair Use Guidelines For Using Arbitron Audience Estimates In News Stories
Arbitron conditionally provides, to newspapers and other publications that write about radio or other media, a nonexclusive, limited, revocable, and personal license to publish a limited, newsworthy amount of Arbitron copyrighted data. In the case of radio, any use of audience estimates must be limited to those radio stations that are current subscribers to Arbitron. Any other use is strictly prohibited. For example, a non-subscribing radio station’s data can neither be used nor characterized in any way, shape or form.
In general, when writing about the standings of the radio stations in a market, only AVERAGE QUARTER HOUR SHARE or CUME estimates for Persons 6+ in PPM-measured markets or Persons 12+ in Diary-measured markets may be published. All data sourced must come from Arbitron and may not be obtained from any other source without Arbitron’s express written permission. Prior to using any Arbitron audience estimates or data, it is your obligation to contact Arbitron and ensure that you are referencing a current subscriber – do not assume that a radio station that was a subscriber last month is a subscriber the next month.
All other demographic information (Persons 25-54, Men 18-34, etc.) may only be used in a form that does not publish the actual audience estimate. Ranking or characterizing the data for a current subscribing radio station is acceptable, i.e., Subscribing Radio Station WAAA is #2 in Men 25-54 in Washington, D.C. It is not acceptable to characterize radio station WAAA if it is a non-subscriber. Demographic information may only be used in the context of a story. Publishing the ranking of the actual estimates is strictly prohibited.
All tables of audience estimates and ranking must be accompanied by the appropriate copyright and attribution notice (e.g., Copyright 2012, Arbitron Inc. All rights reserved.). All audience estimates, and rankings without audience estimates, must be properly sourced as to survey period, survey area, demographic, daypart and estimate (e.g., Spring 2012, New York Metro, Persons 6+, Monday-Sunday, 6AM - Midnight, Average Quarter-Hour Share).
NOTE: Audience Estimates may not be published until the day after Arbitron releases the information to clients.
A subscribing station can use our data to promote its performance per its license with Arbitron. Should a subscribing radio station provide your publication with an 18-34 or 25-54 ranking, you may use the information as background for a story about the subscribing radio station. Again, it is your obligation to contact Arbitron and ensure that the station that provides you the data is a subscriber – do not assume without verifying such claim. The ranking of discrete demos cannot be published.
A radio station cannot give you permission to reprint the audience estimates as a ranker for all the other stations in its market.
A subscribing station is not authorized to disclose audience estimates of non-subscribing radio stations.
If you have any questions, please contact Kim Myers.
Example of appropriate use – Subscribing Radio Station:
Allowed: "Happy Herman’s Men 18-34 share took a beating in Toon Town when Merry Mooney signed on for the morning shift at WNXX. Herman, who ruled the roost in Spring ranking number 1 in AQH share, saw Mooney chew away a full third of his core demo. The Summer survey dropped Herman to fourth in the market and Mooney jumped to the top among the morning talk fans." Remember, any use relating to a non-subscribing radio station is strictly prohibited.
Example of inappropriate use – Subscribing Radio Station:
Not allowed: "The 18-34 race in RadioTown USA is heating up. WAAA took top honors, with a 5.4 share, up half a share from the previous survey. WBBB is a close second, with a 5.2. In the middle of the pack are WCCC, with a 4.3, WDDD, a 4.2, and WEEE, posting a 4.1. WFFF pulled only a 3.5, while WGGG came close with a 3.3 share. There are no cheers for WHHH, with a dismal 1.8, and the Big Band AM WBND posted an unsurprising 0.9 share."
Note: Reporters are welcome to use the Arbitron Web site as a source of information for stories about radio, local market consumer behavior, Webcast audiences and all the other types of information and studies we provide. All we ask is that you properly source the information that is provided to you on this site.
