Arbitron Inc. (Form: 8-K)  

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

     
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported):   March 24, 2009

Arbitron Inc.
__________________________________________
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

     
Delaware 1-1969 52-0278528
_____________________
(State or other jurisdiction 		_____________
(Commission 		______________
(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
      
9705 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, Maryland   21046
_________________________________
(Address of principal executive offices) 		  ___________
(Zip Code)
     
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:   410-312-8000

Not Applicable
______________________________________________
Former name or former address, if changed since last report

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

[  ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[  ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On March 24, 2009 Arbitron Inc. (the "Company") announced, as a further step in its previously announced strategic realignment, a reduction in its workforce of approximately 10 percent of its full-time employees. The Company also announced implementation of a reduction in non-employee related expenses on a company-wide basis.

The Company anticipates that it will incur pre-tax expenses of approximately $8 million to $9 million in the first quarter of 2009, related principally to severance and benefit expenses as a result of this restructuring and expense reduction program. As a result of these initiatives, the company expects to realize savings in the balance of 2009 that would offset the first quarter 2009 charge.

Taken together, the workforce and expense reductions are expected to result in a reduction in the 2010 run rate expenses of more than $10 million.

Also on March 24, 2009 the Company issued a statement regarding the foregoing matters. A copy of the statement is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.

The information in this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.





This current report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements regarding Arbitron Inc. and its subsidiaries in this document that are not historical in nature, particularly those that utilize terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” ”expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” or “plans,” or comparable terminology, are forward-looking statements based on current expectations about future events, which we have derived from information currently available to us. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our results to be materially different from results implied in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, in no particular order, whether we will be able to:

• absorb costs related to legal proceedings and governmental entity interactions and avoid related fines, limitations, or conditions on our business activities;
• successfully commercialize our Portable People MeterTM service;
• successfully manage the impact on our business of the current economic downturn generally, and in the advertising market, in particular, including, without limitation, the insolvency of any of our customers or the impact of such downturn on our customers’ ability to fulfill their payment obligations to us;
• successfully maintain and promote industry usage of our services, a critical mass of broadcaster encoding, and the proper understanding of our audience measurement services and methodology in light of governmental regulation, legislation, litigation, activism, or adverse public relations efforts;
• compete with companies that may have financial, marketing, sales, technical, or other advantages over us;
• successfully design, recruit and maintain PPM panels that appropriately balance research quality, panel size, and operational cost;
• successfully develop, implement, and fund initiatives designed to increase sample sizes;
• complete the Media Rating Council, Inc. (“MRC”) audits of our local market PPM ratings services in a timely manner and successfully obtain and/or maintain MRC accreditation for our audience measurement business;
• renew contracts with key customers;
• successfully execute our business strategies, including entering into potential acquisition, joint-venture or other material third-party agreements;
• effectively manage the impact, if any, of any further ownership shifts in the radio and advertising agency industries;
• effectively respond to rapidly changing technological needs of our customer base, including creating new proprietary software systems, such as software systems to support our cell phone-only sampling plans, and new customer services that meet these needs in a timely manner;
• successfully manage the impact on costs of data collection due to lower respondent cooperation in surveys, consumer trends including a trend toward increasing incidence of cell phone-only households, privacy concerns, technology changes, and/or government regulations;
• successfully develop and implement technology solutions to encode and/or measure new forms of media content and delivery, and advertising in an increasingly competitive environment; and
• realize expected savings from our workforce and expense reduction program.

There are a number of additional important factors that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the risk factors set forth in the caption “ITEM 1A. — RISK FACTORS” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, and elsewhere, and any subsequent periodic or current reports filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, any forward-looking statements contained in this document represent our estimates only as of the date hereof, and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

         
    Arbitron Inc.
          
March 24, 2009   By:   /s/ Timothy T. Smith
       
        Name: Timothy T. Smith
        Title: Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Legal and Business Affairs, and Secretary

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Exhibit Index


     
Exhibit No.   Description
 
99.1
  Statement of Arbitron Inc. dated March 24, 2009