Arbitron is moving up its target date to start including more “cell-phone-only” households as part of its media measurement diary system. The researcher currently measures about 10 percent of homes that use a mobile phone instead of a landline in its diary markets. It had initially planned to raise that number to 15 percent of the homes in each its 268 diary markets by the end of next year; it now expects to get to that point by next spring. It’s not clear how many cell phone homes Arbitron expects to include. Overall, the researcher has 800,000 diarists each year. It also measures markets electronically, which amounts to another 50,000 panelists. Release
The fall survey was the first to include some cell phone homes across all 50 states. The increased focus on these homes is designed to ensure that the 18-34 year-old demo doesn’t fall off Arbitron’s map, as cell-phone-onlys tend to be at the younger end of the spectrum and one of the primary segments that advertisers want to reach.
With the media landscape in greater flux, the audience measurement business finds itself scrambling to provide ever-granular data. Established companies like Arbitron and Nielsen are finding themselves challenged like never before, as a range of new companies with a heavy focus on digital have resulted in greater demands from media companies, advertisers and agencies. Nielsen, for example, has been ramping up its combined coverage of traditional TV and online viewing lately. Also, the clients themselves have gotten together under the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) to try to push companies to develop better tools for audience measurement, especially in the area of DVRs.

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