Arbitron changes CEO, opens India center

Michael Hedges January 13, 2009

Surprising some, Arbitron has named a new CEO. Surprising none, the company continues its transition to technology developer. The year 2009 will certainly be one of transitions.

Arbitron, audience measurement systems supplier, has replaced CEO Steve Morris. (Read Arbitron announcement here) The new CEO is Michael Skarzynski, most recently CEO of New York software company Iptivia. Morris will remain Arbitron’s chairman through a transition period.

Morris has led Arbitron for 16 years. He is at nominal US retirement age, 65 years, and indicated that he’d be moving on. Some US media watchers were surprised by the announcements timing, some were not. Lawsuits brought against Arbitron by the Attorneys General of New York and New Jersey were settled in the last two weeks. Last week (January 5) Morris opened Arbitron India, a technology center located in the southwest Indian coastal city Kochi. 

During Morris’ tenure publicly traded Arbitron has been transitioning from a service supplier to US broadcasters to a technology company. Through that period the company has invested serious time, talent and money on the Personal People Meter (PPM) technology and owns many patents on the intellectual property.  Skarzynski’s appointment indicates a firm commitment to that transition.

Radio broadcasters in the United States provide the lions share of Arbitron’s revenue through subscriptions to measurement services. The company has licensed PPM technology to media research suppliers around the world with limited financial reward…so far. Other PPM applications, particularly retail monitoring, are showing promise.

At a press conference (January 5) Arbitron India managing director Shilen Sagunan said the new IT center might employ as many as 800 software engineers in the next three to four years, reported The Hindu. Morris indicated that Arbitron might bid on measurement contracts in India provided suitable partners are found. A year ago Morris and Sagunan met with India’s Media Research Users Council (MRUC) in Mumbai.

That may be exciting for stock traders but the people who pay – broadcasters – are again left scratching their heads.  Several US broadcasters have howled and wailed about Arbitron’s transition from diary-based audience measurement to passive electronic measurement. Some of that criticism focused on perceived lack of transparency in decisions affecting the whole of American radio broadcasting, passive measurement yielding different results from data collected with diaries. And, too, costs of the service rose. By far, the wounded US broadcasters – with little alternative to Arbitron’s near monopoly – have felt the salt of “attitude” in their relationship with Arbitron. “We were slaves,” said one broadcaster contacted for comment.

Transitions are difficult for companies and their clients. New technologies are forcing transitions on all business sectors, media finding this a particular challenge. Arbitron will not be returning to its roots with dozens of experts happily helping broadcasters turn audience ratings into revenue. At the same time, US broadcasters – also facing transition – will make decisions to their own benefit. The symbiotic relationship is ending.

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