Nielsen to Measure Radio Audiences in 50 Cumulus Markets

November 18, 2008 7:40 AM EST

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) and The Nielsen Company, the world leader in media measurement, today announced that starting in 2009 Nielsen will provide audience measurement and radio ratings in 50 small- and mid-sized U.S. markets. The companies also announced that Clear Channel Radio will subscribe to the syndicated service in 17 of the markets in which the service will be offered. This concludes a process that commenced with Cumulus' "request for proposal" and which evolved into an open search for the best in radio research.

"We initiated the RFP to improve the quality and value of radio ratings," notes Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey. "That opened up a transparent process which gave us the option to talk to the best research practitioners in the world. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. Nielsen is the Gold Standard for television advertisers who make nearly $80 billion worth of decisions in the U.S. based on Nielsen data. This is a great development for Radio."

"Clear Channel Radio is delighted to have the choice to move to an improved audience measurement approach in these important markets and applauds Nielsen for bringing their exemplary business practices to radio," said John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. "This gives radio ratings greater accuracy, stronger accountability, and full transparency, and shows the true power of radio to reach the most coveted consumers."

The Nielsen Company has more than six decades of experience measuring radio around the world. The service, which begins in Q3 2009, will use a proven and easy to use/easy to edit 'sticker diary' that has improved the quality of radio measurement data around the world.

In another major improvement from the status quo, Nielsen will use address-based sampling (ABS) to recruit sample households. Nielsen pioneered the use of ABS, which uses randomly selected addresses rather than telephone numbers, in its domestic television measurement in order to reach the 34% of U.S. households that are not covered by current sampling methods, including cell-phone only and many unlisted landline phone households.

Other solution features include:

    --  Large samples to reduce relative error and bounce.
    --  A significant investment in oversampling and differentiated incentives
        to improve response rates and representativeness among hard-to-reach
        demographics.
    --  An "e-diary" option for 2010 that will appeal, in particular, to younger
        demographics that are more comfortable participating online.
    --  Robust, single-source qualitative measurement of lifestyle, consumer
        behavior, and purchase intent.
    --  Nielsen's web-based Radio Advisor software platform, which will include
        responsible limits on the granularity of analysis and relative errors
        that can be used in proposals and analyses.

John Dickey, Cumulus COO, added: "We talked to a number of great companies, but Nielsen was the clear leader in terms of their focus on quality and customer success. We also see a very important long-term benefit in this engagement. Nielsen is committed to, and uniquely capable of, delivering a multi-media measurement solution - what they call their Anytime, Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiative, which has significant appeal to consumer marketers. As a part of this integrated measurement solution, we believe that we can better serve the advertising communities and strongly position radio and its digital extensions for the future."

"Cumulus and Clear Channel have made it clear to us that they want to challenge the status quo in these markets by seeking new ways of measuring this important medium," said Susan D. Whiting, Vice Chairperson and Executive Vice President of the Nielsen Company. "Nielsen agreed to develop this service only after we became convinced there was a market need we could fill by calling upon our broad experience in media measurement."

About Cumulus Media, Inc.

Cumulus Media Inc. is the second-largest radio company in the United States based on stations owned and operated. Following the completion of all pending acquisitions and divestitures, Cumulus, directly and through its investment in Cumulus Media Partners, will own or operate 344 radio stations in 67 U.S. media markets. Cumulus's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, and its web site is www.cumulus.com. Cumulus shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol CMLS.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release may constitute "forward-looking" statements, which are statements that involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements, due to various risks, uncertainties or other factors.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Cumulus Media Inc.'s business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

    Source: Cumulus Media Inc.

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