Google to close radio ads business

Google is shutting its radio ads business although it will continue with plans to sell ads for streaming audio on the web.

The online giant is to sell its Radio Automation business and close the AdSense for Audio and Audio Ads services at the end of May.

In January, Google director Spencer Spinnell announced the closure of its print ads business and this latest move is another scaling back of its offline sales presence.

Susan Wojcicki, vice-president of product management at Google, said that 40 jobs were at risk from the closure.

She said: “While we have devoted substantial resources to developing these products and learned a lot along the way, we haven’t had the impact we hoped for. So we have decided to exit the broadcast radio business and focus our efforts in online streaming audio.

“We will phase out the existing Google Audio Ads and AdSense for Audio products and plan to sell the Google Radio Automation business, the software that automates broadcast radio programming. Advertisers will continue to be able to use Google Audio Ads until 31 May and broadcasters will be able to publish inventory to Google until that date as well.”

Google launched the radio ads programme in 2007 after the $102 million acquisition of DMarc Broadcasting a year earlier.

Elsewhere, new data from the IPA has revealed that Google’s pay-per-click costs have risen as click-through rates have decreased (see IPA: Google’s pay-per-click costs have risen as click-through rates decrease).

The data comes from the IPA’s Search Group, whose agencies have provided brand data on Google’s cost-per-clicks (CPC) and click-through rates (CTR) for the first time.

Google: 020 7031 3000 www.google.co.uk/