Arbitron update on software update

Following installation problems for some clients with a software update for Arbitron's PPM analysis tool (9/13/07 RBR #179), Pierre Bouvard, Arbitron's President of Sales and Marketing, issued this statement:

"Yesterday was the data release day for the August PPM data for Philadelphia and Houston. At the same time, we also released a new version of the PPM analysis tool software. Some of our customers, including Katz Media Group, then experienced problems installing the new software and data. Unfortunately, while addressing questions about the software issues, Arbitron incorrectly characterized  Katz as the "only customer that had an issue loading the data." That was not true. In fact, we had a number of clients who experienced difficulties yesterday. We apologize to Katz for singling them out, and for making it appear that the problems were due to Katz's actions, rather than our own.

A number of clients have correctly pointed out that we should not be releasing new versions of software on data release day. Effective immediately, we will be releasing any new software version a week before data releases. Any issues that occurred yesterday with our data and software was an Arbitron problem, not a customer problem. We apologize for the miscommunication on this issue."

At Katz, Gerry Boehme, Sr. VP of Strategic Planning and IT Services, told RBR yesterday, "Yes, we have worked through the access issues with Arbitron as we expected and are up and running."

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