Basis Of Presentation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Basis Of Presentation [Abstract]

Basis Of Presentation

1. Basis of Presentation

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements of Arbitron Inc. ("Arbitron" or the "Company") for the year ended December 31, 2011, reflect the consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries: Arbitron Holdings Inc., Arbitron Mobile Oy, Astro West LLC, Cardinal North LLC, Ceridian Infotech (India) Private Limited, Arbitron International, LLC, and Arbitron Technology Services India Private Limited. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company has one segment which meets the quantitative thresholds for being a reportable segment.

Description of Business

Arbitron is a leading media and marketing information services firm primarily serving radio, advertisers, advertising agencies, cable and broadcast television, retailers, out-of-home media, online media, mobile media, telecommunications providers, and print media. The Company currently provides four main services:

• estimating the size and demographics of radio audiences in local markets and of network radio programming and commercials in the United States;

• estimating the size and demographics of audiences of other media services, including mobile media and out-of-home television viewing, and measuring usage and estimating the size and demographics of audiences across multiple platforms of media;

• providing qualitative consumer, shopping, and media usage information services; and

• providing software used for accessing and analyzing the Company's media audience and marketing information data.