ARBITRON SELECTS OCTAVE TECHNOLOGY TO EXPLORE THE USE OF AUTO-IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY IN PPM
Two Companies Exploring Usability of RFID Technology in Media And Marketing Research Services

New York and College Park, MD - November 16, 2004  - Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) has selected Octave Technology Inc., an Auto-ID software and technology company, to explore the possible integration of passive auto identification (ID) technology – such as radio frequency identification (RFID) functionality – into Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM^SM) system.

The two companies expect to gain a greater understanding of the capabilities of passive RFID readers and chipsets for media and market research applications as well as develop insights into the likelihood, costs and challenges in integrating these technologies.

“Our goal is to keep PPM on the cutting edge of 21st century technology. Octave Technology’s expertise in the field of auto ID communication and hardware design will help Arbitron enhance its research systems to make smarter connections between media experiences of today’s busy consumers and their activities in the marketplace ,” said Ron Kolessar, vice president of technology for Arbitron Inc. “Combining our knowledge of media and research with the Auto-ID expertise of Octave Technology will help enhance the PPM’s capabilities and its implementation in the media and marketing industry.”

“Auto-ID is an enabling technology,” said Rick Morani, senior vice president and co-founder, Octave Technology. “When used with more robust and mature systems, like those created by Arbitron, it can provide organizations with tremendous insight into consumer behavior.”

About Octave Technology Inc.
Octave Technology utilizes sensor and Auto-ID technologies to streamline inefficient manual and paper-based business processes. Through the research, development and deployment of enterprise software and middleware solutions that extend important data beyond the desktop, Octave Technology allows virtually any industry or organization - maintenance, manufacturing, supply chain, consumer products - to quickly deploy and benefit from the integration of Auto-ID technologies and capitalize on their previous IT investments.

Founded in 2003 and born out of a joint venture between leading technology and engineering firms, Octave Technology is deploying Auto-ID enabled systems in a wide variety of industries. For more information visit www.octavetech.com.

About Arbitron
Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research firm serving radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertisers, advertising agencies and outdoor advertising companies in the United States, Mexico and Europe. Arbitron’s core businesses are measuring network and local market radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product patterns of local market consumers; and providing application software used for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. The Company has also developed the Portable People Meter (PPM), a new technology for media and marketing research.

Arbitron’s marketing and business units are supported by its research and technology organization, located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 1,700 employees; its executive offices are located in New York City.

Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU, Inc., Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, magazine, newspaper and online industries.