Maverick, which owns 20 radio stations, will use data from the sticker diary system in Rockford, Illinois, while TargetCast will receive data from all the 51 markets Nielsen’s service covers.

Gary Rozynek, president and CEO of Maverick Media, said: “We applaud Nielsen’s entry into radio which is now giving us another choice in a ratings service. We know that Nielsen will be a very good partner, uniquely offering much larger sample sizes, the best research methodology, a complete sales solution, state of the art software and world-class support and training.”

Rozynek told Research that the firm has a contract in place with Arbitron for the region until March next year but the firm’s “intention is to be done with Arbitron when the agreement runs out”.

TargetCast’s senior vice president and director of media research, Michele Buslik, said: “Nielsen’s new service will provide radio ratings based on a large sample measuring all segments of the population. That gives Nielsen the potential to become a single source for measurement of both television and radio behaviour.”

She told Research that the media agency currently subscribes to Arbitron’s ratings, but welcomed a new face in the market. Buslik said it was too early to tell if the company would eventually pick one supplier over the other.

Nielsen took its first step into the US radio ratings market last November, when it won a contract from Cumulus Media to provide the service in 51 small and medium-sized markets. Sports broadcaster ESPN Radio signed up for the service earlier this month.

Arbitron was quick to respond to Nielsen’s entry to the radio market, vowing to “aggressively protect” its core business.