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Google Makes Radio Move, Boosts Broadcast Tools

By Juan Carlos Perez

April 11, 2008 — IDG News Service —

Google will unveil next week a new system to automate tasks for radio broadcasters, beefing up an important piece of its radio advertising product line.

Google Radio Automation, built from scratch, will be shown at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, which begins Friday in Las Vegas, with an exhibit floor opening on Monday.

The new system is the next generation of Google's existing Maestro and SS32 products, which broadcasters use to automate a variety of radio functions, such as slotting songs and ad spots and doing audio recording.

Google Radio Automation will combine the functions of Maestro and SS32 and offer a slate of enhancements, such as an open software platform and a three-tier computing architecture.

Radio automation is one of the three main pieces of Google's radio business. The other two pieces are Google Audio Ads, which lets marketers create and manage radio ad campaigns, and AdSense for Audio, for radio stations that want to carry the ads.

Google, eager to diversify beyond search engine ads, entered the radio advertising market almost two-and-a-half years ago when it bought dMarc. Google has 1,600 radio stations in its distribution network, and the program is open to U.S. advertisers via AdWords.

The radio efforts also have gotten some bad publicity, particularly when dMarc's co-founders -- former Chairman and CEO Chad Steelberg and his brother, Ryan Steelberg, dMarc's president -- left Google in early 2007 in a rather abrupt way and apparently not cordial terms.

Google doesn't disclose the revenue its radio business generates, but Jim Woods, director of product management for Google Audio, said the company is pushing ahead with its efforts, convinced it can improve the way radio advertising works. "The big idea is that by improving the targetability of radio ads and bringing a new level of accountability and measurability, we can bring new advertisers to the radio industry," Woods said.

Google's forays into non-Internet advertising, which also include TV and newspapers, are unlikely to yield meaningful revenue for probably at least two more years, said industry analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence. "Google is probably taking a very long-term view with these projects," he said.

Google has seemed particularly low-key, at least publicly, about its radio ad program, probably due to the bad press it got when the Steelberg brothers left. But there is no question the company is building up its program, Sterling said.

"I think Google, after some early setbacks, is moving under the radar with this a bit to build the distribution [network]," Sterling said.

 

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