News & Events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

BIA ADVISORY SERVICES ANNOUNCES ENHANCEMENTS TO MEDIA ACCESS PRO™

Version 4.3 Provides Detailed View of Digital Radio Information and Arbitron’s PPM Data

CHANTILLY, VA., – December 12, 2008 – BIA Advisory Services, a leading financial and strategic advisory firm serving the media and communications industries, today announced the availability of an enhanced edition of MEDIA Access Pro™, the broadcasting and newspaper industry’s comprehensive resource for market and ownership information. MAPro Version 4.3 now delivers details on individual multicast/digital stations, Arbitron Portable People Meter™ (PPM) data for available markets, and detailed band ID information. Another added feature in Version 4.3 is the ability to export counties per market and across various media. These enhancements will provide station owners and operators the ability to efficiently track the competitive outlook in PPM markets and view detailed digital radio information.

“Our newest version of MEDIA Access Pro provides the necessary data intelligence to operate effectively in these difficult economic times,” said Mark Fratrik, vice president of research at BIA. “The level of detail in its financial, market, and cross-media information enhances the ability to complete competitive assessments and aids in strategic decision making.”

Relied upon by the nation’s top media companies, investment and lending institutions and government regulatory agencies, the addition of PPM data in MAPro will provide all of the ratings information that Arbitron is publishing on Internet streaming and various HD signals, in addition to offering a PPM 12 month history. Users can choose from different criterion to display data so they are viewing the information (i.e., PPM or Diary ratings) most interesting to them. Currently, PPM audience estimates are provided for 10 markets, including Houston, Philadelphia, New York, Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Union, Los Angeles, Riverside-San Bernardino, Chicago, San Francisco and San Jose, all of which are included in MAPro 4.3. As further markets become available, they will be included in the software.

MEDIA Access Pro v4.3 screen shot demonstrating Arbitron's PPM Data:

Other enhancements to MAPro 4.3 include the addition of detailed information for Low Power FM’s and their unique programming. Users can easily single out these stations via a special search criterion. MAPro 4.3 also includes information on additional station programming (i.e., HD2 & HD3) such as formats being provided and detailed contact information at each multicast program stream. MAPro 4.3 also offers an enhanced way of viewing multiple markets simultaneously via new saved searches, making it easy to view information across markets.

MEDIA Access Pro provides simultaneous data on more than 14,000 commercial and non-commercial radio stations and 4,611 unique owners in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. As the only fully integrated multi-media database on the market, MAPro also offers fields of information on more than 1,446 full power commercial television stations and 402 full power non-commercial TV stations, 3,001 Class A and LPTV stations, 2,438 TV translators, and 1,440 daily and 6,112 weekly newspapers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

A demonstration of the new MAPro v4.3 features can be scheduled by calling 800.331.5086 or emailing info@bia.com.

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About BIA Advisory Services, LLC

BIA Advisory Services, LLC, a subsidiary of BIA Financial Network, provides research, data, analysis, and financial and strategic consulting to media, telecommunications, technology, directory publishing, and local search companies. BIA Advisory Services includes The Kelsey Group, experts in traditional and online local media and advertising; BIA Research, providers of competitive and comparative market information and analysis through data services, specialized reporting, engineering studies and mapping; and BIA Consulting, specialists in business intelligence and corporate growth strategy, and the nation’s leading communications appraisal and valuation firm. Additional information is available at www.bia.com.