Satellite and Internet Radio Invited to Upfront Party

Advertisers such as Pfizer, Geico and Proctor & Gamble are including satellite and internet radio in their radio budgets, writes Mediaweek.

Both internet radio and satellite are officially players in the radio upfront this year, and even retailers such as Walgreens and Home Depot, which have already made their buys in traditional radio, are considering the new media, as well.

That bodes well for the radio industry, according to the article, which states that while neither is likely to overtake traditional network buys in the near future, they could help wake up the sleepy radio market.

“Last year we crashed the upfront party by sheer force of will, and this year we’ve been invited to participate,” Eric Ronning, managing partner of Ronning Lipset Radio, which represents top five internet radio networks, is quoted as saying.

D. Scott Karnedy, senior vp of sales/marketing solutions for XM Satellite Radio, agrees that radio’s new media is reaching a critical mass that has great appeal to national advertisers, though he adds that it will “never replace network radio.” XM has exceeded $30 million in sales already for 2006, blasting the $20 million XM saw in sales last year.

XM rival Sirius has booked $22 million for the year, as of Aug. 1, compared to just $6 million for all of 2005.

It is unclear whether new media will help increase overall radio budgets or whether it will fragment budgets, according to the article, though it points out that for certain network brands with strong multi-platform profiles, such as ESPN Radio, sales are up.

Online radio is easier to integrate into radio plans because it aggregates demos across channels and uses the same metrics. Satellite radio is not yet being measured by Arbitron so it is difficult to estimate just how many listeners are tuning in to individual satellite channels, though XM does offer customized studies through Arbitron and Sirius conducts surveys through TNS. Buyers want radio, internet and satellite all on the same measurement platform.

However, advertisers it is satellite’s strong brands, such as Oprah & Friends on XM and Howard Stern on Sirius, that buyers find attractive.