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Google Audio may be headed for an unexpected roadblock, according to an analyst’s report on Monday. While it appears that a critical mass of advertisers are intersted in pursuing Google’s radio advertising, the company may not have access to enough radio time for those advertisers to sufficiently test the initiative.
Several news reports, however, have said that Google is heavy into negotiations with CBS Radio to buy large amounts of air time, writes Market Watch. If the negotiations are successful, Google could avoid air time shortage, says RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan. If not, the rollout of Google Audio could be delayed until Google can strike a deal with CBS or another radio giant.
As for now, says Rohan, “there is simply not enough radio inventory in the Google Audio system (yet) to enable buyers to run campaigns.”
In fact, Google radio ad sales executives have changed their approach during sales calls, Rohan pointed out in his note on Monday. Rather than strictly selling the efficiency and efficacy of Google Audio, as they had before, they are now pushing the combination of radio and internet ads.
A Google spokesman said in an email that advertisers have access to more than 700 stations spanning “more than 200 metro areas,” and that more stations and inventory will be available to an increasing number of advertisers next year.
All sectors of the media business will suffer from the weakened economy in 2008 and 2009, with a slump in local advertising particularly hurting newspapers and local TV, according to a new projection from Goldman Sachs.
Broadcast nets will experience…
The New York Times is shuttering its International Herald Tribune site; NYTimes.com will soon host the international news normally reserved for its sister website.
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Unilever’s Vaseline set forth on an unusual research project in a small town in Alaska. Setting up a storefront, the company began giving away free bottles of lotion and asking recipients to name the person who had recommended they come…
Meet the Press, the show hosted by Tim Russert for 17 years before his death last June, is beginning to slip in ratings.
Last month, CBS’s Face the Nation pulled ahead of Meet the Press for the first time in two…
Bloggers collectively create nearly one million blog posts each day, and half of bloggers believe blogs will be a primary source of news and entertainment in the next five years, according to Technorati’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report, MarketingCharts writes.…
Wal-Mart and Costco reported same-store gains in September, with sales rising 2.4% and 9% respectively. Sales at Target stores open at least a year fell 3%, writes Retailer Daily.
Below, fiscal results from the discount retail giants:
Sales of food and…
