Google Audio Gets Major Boost with Clear Channel Deal

Google has been, perhaps, busier than usual in the last several days. On Friday, the search behemoth announced that it had acquired DoubleClick. Today, the company has announced that it has inked a multi-year agreement with Clear Channel Radio 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.

The move significantly speeds Google’s reach into traditional media and could quell comments from analysts and industry insiders that Google Audio lacks sufficient inventory to succeed.
Under the agreement, Google Audio advertisers will have national distribution, enabling them to reach specific audiences, at specific times, in targeted geographies, according to Clear Channel.

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.

Specific financial terms are not being disclosed.
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) and unusual spot types (adlets and blinks). These and other efforts have produced steady gains in revenue yield-per-minute, according to the company.