The study, "Internet and Multimedia 12: The Value of Internet Broadcast Advertising," also found that the monthly Internet broadcast audience, people who listened to or watched Internet radio and television in the past month, accounts for 42 percent of all estimated online expenditures

It also reveals that a significant portion of Internet Broadcast consumers shop and purchase online while listening to Internet radio:

-- Just under half (42 percent) of Internet radio listeners have listened to Internet radio while researching a product or service online.

-- Twenty-seven percent of people who tune to Internet radio have listened while making an actual purchase online.

The study focuses on the opportunity Internet broadcasting affords advertisers. Sixty percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers use programs to block pop-up advertising online and 43 percent also block banners. Commercials inserted directly into online programming are not affected by this software.

"Internet broadcast consumers spend more time online, shop more often online and spend more money when they do shop," said Bill Rose, vice president and general manager, Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services. "The irony is that these consumers also go out of their way to eliminate most advertising from their online experience. Internet broadcast commercials may be the best way to reach these key consumers while purchasing decisions are being made."

The study also reveals 21 percent (51 million people) consume Internet broadcasting on a monthly basis compared to 12 percent (30 million people) that used it in the week before the survey. "Therefore, advertisers who run their Internet broadcast commercial schedules for at least one month can almost double the reach of the their campaign," said Pierre Bouvard, president, Arbitron New Ventures.

It was also shown that Internet broadcasting delivers a higher concentration of the elusive young, male demographic. Fifty-three percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers are ages 12-34 compared to 37 percent of the general U.S. population. Sixty percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers are male compared to 47 percent of the general U.S. population.

"Internet broadcast consumers skew younger and are more often male," said Larry Rosin, president, Edison Media Research. "They also spend ten percent less time with television on a daily basis, making Internet broadcasting a key medium for reaching this hard to reach audience."

Additional findings from the study include:

-- Twenty-four percent of all Americans have residential broadband Internet access at home as of January 2004. Half of monthly Internet broadcast consumers have broadband access at home.

-- Fifty-four percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers say they would be "very or somewhat interested" in listening to Internet radio on a form of CD walkman or cell phone.

-- One in five Americans (20 percent) owns more than 20 DVDs.

The findings reported here are based on a January 2004 survey consisting of 2,290 telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of Arbitron's Fall 2003 radio diary keepers. Since 1998, Arbitron and Edison Media Research have conducted 12 groundbreaking studies of the Internet and streaming media -- one every six months. This latest study, as well as previous studies, may be downloaded free of charge via the Arbitron and Edison Media Research Web sites at www.arbitron.com and www.edisonresearch.com.

About Edison Media Research

Edison Media Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to radio stations, television stations, newspapers, cable networks, record labels, Internet companies and other media organizations. Edison Media Research works with many of the largest American radio ownership groups, including Entercom, ABC Radio, Infinity, Bonneville and Westwood One, and also conducts strategic and perceptual research for a broad array of companies including AOL/Time Warner, Yahoo!, Sony Music, Princeton University, Northwestern University, Universal Music Group, Time-Life Music and the Voice of America. Edison Media Research also conducts research for successful radio stations in South America, Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe. Edison Media Research designed and operated the CNN RealVote election projection system in 2002, and currently conducts all exit polls and election projections for the six major news organizations - ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the Associated Press. All of Edison Media Research's industry studies can be found on the company's Web site at www.edisonresearch.com and can be downloaded free of charge.

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 is developing the Portable People Meter, a new technology for radio, television and cable ratings.

Arbitron's marketing and business units are supported by a world-renowned research and technology organization located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 825 full-time 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, cable, magazine, newspaper, outdoor and online industries.

All names are the property of their respective owners.