Clear Channel, Arbitron Reach Radio Ratings Deal

Radio giant Clear Channel Communications and ratings service Arbitron said Monday they had concluded nine months of stormy negotiations with a new three-year agreement that covers more than 700 radio stations.

Financial details were not disclosed. The deal, which extends Arbitron ratings coverage in 130 markets through the fall 2004 season, was reached late Sunday, Arbitron spokesman Thom Mocarsky said.

Arbitron cut off Clear Channel’s ability to use its spring ratings data in 130 of its 187 radio markets on July 17 after the two sides failed to agree on new licensing agreements.

Clear Channel’s contracts expired Dec. 31, and the San Antonio broadcaster--the nation’s largest owner of radio stations with 12,000 outlets--was threatening to start its own ratings service or finance a start-up company to compete with Arbitron, which began measuring radio audiences in 1965.

The two companies had been arguing over the price of Arbitron service and the way Arbitron counted listeners.

“We were looking at all of our options,” Clear Channel spokesman Randy Palmer said Monday. “But as it turned out, we felt like we got a favorable agreement, and that’s the bottom line.”

Clear Channel demanded that Arbitron capture listeners who live outside a metropolitan area but could still pick up the signal of a powerful station. Early in the negotiations, Arbitron agreed to develop a new system so that station owners could mix and match geographical markets.

Industry experts said Clear Channel, despite its size and muscle in its markets, would have difficulty selling commercial time to advertisers without the ability to tout their popularity as measured by an independent agency. And Arbitron could ill afford to lose its biggest customer--Clear Channel provided nearly 22% of Arbitron’s revenue last year.

Arbitron shares rose $1.27 to close at $27.30 on the New York Stock Exchange. Clear Channel was up 9 cents to $57.85 on the NYSE.