Minimum Reporting Standards (MRS)

Radio stations must meet applicable Minimum Reporting Standards in order to be listed in the Arbitron Radio Market Report (Arbitron eBookSM) and other Arbitron services.

Diary-Based Radio Market Reports/Arbitron eBooks

A commercial radio station or combo is eligible to be listed in a Diary-based Radio Market Report/Arbitron eBook if the station or combo has met all of the following Minimum Reporting Standards for the applicable geographic area among Persons 12+, during the Monday–Sunday 6AM–Midnight daypart for the applicable survey:

  1. The station must have been credited for at least one quarter-hour in at least 10 In-Tab diaries; and
  2. The station or combo must have a Metro Cume rating of 0.495 or greater; and
  3. The station or combo must have a Metro Average Quarter-Hour rating of 0.05 or greater.

PPM®-Based Radio Market Reports/Arbitron eBooks

An encoded commercial or noncommercial radio station or combo is eligible to be listed in a PPM-based Radio Market Report/Arbitron eBook if the station or combo has met each of the following Minimum Reporting Standards for the Metro among Persons 6+, during the Monday-Sunday 6AM-Midnight daypart for the applicable report period:

  1. The station or combo must have received at least one quarter-hour of listening credit from at least one In-Tab panelist; and
  2. The station or combo must have a Metro Cume rating of 0.495 or greater.

Maximi$er®

To meet MRS for Arbitron Maximi$er, Media Professional®, and Tapscan™ services in Standard markets (and Condensed markets whose Metros are embedded), a radio station or a Total Line Reporting combo must meet only one criterion:

At least five minutes of listening within a quarter-hour in 10 diaries in the Metro, the TSA or, if applicable, the DMA®.

To meet MRS for Arbitron Maximi$er and Media Professional services in markets that are Small Market Initiative markets, a nonsimulcast station must meet only one criterion:

At least five minutes of listening within a quarter-hour in one diary in the Metro or the TSA (effective Spring 2005).

Note: Noncommercial stations are eligible to be reported in Maximi$er, Media Professional, and Tapscan.

Arbitron eBookSM, PPM®, Maximi$er®, and Media Professional® are marks of Arbitron Inc. TAPSCAN™ is a trademark of TAPSCAN Inc., used under license.

Last updated: 1.30.13