Google In Radio Ad Deal With Clear Channel

This morning the New York Times is reporting that Google has struck a deal to sell radio air time on Clear Channel’s network. Clear Channel is the US’s largest single owner of radio stations. This had been rumored but the formal announcement (not yet posted) will apparently include “30-second spots on all of Clear Channel’s 675 stations during all programs and all times of the day.” (In other words: not remnant inventory.)

The deal is quite similar it appears to the recent Dish Network deal. I have some additional discussion on my personal blog.

Postscript: . The Google Blog has now posted about the news, and here’s the text of the release that just came out:

Clear Channel Radio and Google Will Jointly Drive Radio Advertiser Expansion

Agreement Makes Guaranteed Inventory Available to Google Advertisers On More Than 675 Clear Channel Radio Stations

SAN ANTONIO AND MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 16, 2007 — Clear Channel Radio and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), today announced a multi-year agreement that enables Google to sell a guaranteed portion of 30-second advertising inventory available on more than 675 of Clear Channel’s AM/FM stations. Specific financial terms are not being disclosed.

Under the agreement, Google™ Audio Ads advertisers will have national distribution, enabling them to reach specific audiences, at specific times, in targeted geographies. For Clear Channel, this agreement opens up an additional sales channel and provides supplemental revenue by making Clear Channel inventory available to advertisers who previously had not used radio.

“This is a true win-win,” said John Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Radio. “Clear Channel Radio gets access to an entirely new group of advertisers within a new and complementary sales channel, and Google adds another option for its existing customers. Google has proven its ability to gain premiums for advertising inventory and that fits perfectly into our broader strategy of building value for advertisers while increasing our overall revenue yield. We’re committed to working with the best-in-class and Google has a real economic incentive to produce meaningfully higher CPMs.”

“Clear Channel is the market leader in delivering radio value to consumers and advertisers and has built an innovative platform to manage its on-air ad inventory,” said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. “We look forward to working with Clear Channel Radio by providing a unique set of advertisers and a system that will increase the effectiveness and measurability of connecting advertisers with radio listeners.”

Clear Channel Radio’s national and local sales forces will continue to focus on the company’s most lucrative advertiser relationships, and on the many advertisers who seek specialized advertising packages and concepts. Google will focus primarily on advertisers who currently run ads online but do not run ads on radio.

For Clear Channel, the move is part of a larger initiative to differentiate its on-air ad inventory. The company created a number of special positions (such as first-in-pod and islands), new and innovative spot types (adlets and blinks), unparalleled creative resources (the Creative Services Group), and fresh combinations on-/off-air/online packages. These efforts have produced many new advertiser alternatives and steady gains in revenue yield-per-minute. Using its Viero System, the company already enables sales managers and sellers to dynamically evaluate and price inventory. Clear Channel Radio and Google today separately announced Viero Systems full AdSense for Audio Compatibility.

This agreement complements an existing online advertising partnership in which Google provides text ads to Clear Channel’s radio-station Web sites through the company’s Online Music & Radio Unit.