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Arbitron Offers Sample Size Guarantees Come October

Arbitron will begin issuing sample guarantees beginning Oct. 1, in response to complaints by clients that the radio measurement company failed to meet in-tab sample sizes in Houston and Philadelphia in July.

The failure may in fact have been due to steps Arbitron had taken to remedy the situation, said CEO Steve Morris (via MediaPost). “While sample sizes in Houston and Philadelphia debuted at or close to target, the total panel size dropped over the summer as we introduced a new tough love panel-management approach,” he says. As Arbitron dropped panelists at a faster-than-expected pace, the company was unable to recruit and install new panelists quickly enough.

Arbitron is recruiting new panelists in Houston and Philly and hopes to have the in-tab sample sizes up by early October. After the sample guarantees are implemented, partial refunds will be issued if sample sizes aren’t met.

Some of Arbitron’s biggest clients apparently remain skeptical, despite the guarantees, with Cox CEO Bob Neil pointing out, in an email that was forwarded to Radio & Records, that similar problems meeting age demo targets have been a problem for Arbitron’s paper diary service.