The new service is “proof-of-play” for digital signage, to provide a third-party audit service for advertisers and its client for the new service, BroadSign International. Arbitron will do annual audits “capturing when encoded audio and video advertising content is displayed on networked digital screens in 50 random” locations run by BroadSign. Just as in a radio station situation, that data will be compared to the commercial schedule logs kept by BroadSign. The strength of digital signs, aside from their attention-getting brightness, is the ability to change the advertising message on the fly, from a remote location. Arbitron says the PPM-based audit “is the first such service in the digital out-of-home industry.” It was tested three years ago (October 2006) during a pilot program with BroadSign, which operates screens in convenience stores.