Katz Online Network and Pandora Sign Strategic Agreement
Katz to Serve Pandora’s Rapid Audio Ad Sales Growth in Select U.S. Markets
New York, August 3, 2009 – Pandora Media, the premier provider of personalized radio service online, and Katz 360 Sales’ Katz Online Network, the largest Internet radio sales network in the country, today announced a strategic agreement in which Katz will represent a significant portion of Pandora’s digital audio advertising inventory, combining the number one Internet radio site with the leading online audio sales network in the country.
Pandora’s ad revenue has doubled year after year and, most recently, audio ad sales have been a key contribution in the upsurge. To accommodate the growing interest in audio advertising on Pandora and continue the sales momentum, the company is broadening its reach into the audio ad marketplace, calling on The Katz Online Network, which now consists of most of the industry’s terrestrial audio broadcast streams and many of the bigger pure-play webcasters, such as AccuRadio.com, Digitally Imported, RadioIO and 977Music.com, among others.
Pandora, the free online radio service that generates playlists based on users’ musical preferences, is the largest online music site based on monthly unique visitors, now over 11 million. Headquartered in Oakland, California, the service has a growing user base of more than 30 million registered listeners, a database of over 600,000 songs, and national advertisers such as HP, Microsoft, Honda, Procter & Gamble and Nike. Because of its recent and remarkably successful foray into audio advertising, Pandora saw Katz as the perfect fit for representing its uncovered territories.
“As a result of the high interest on the radio ad sales front since launching only six months ago, we’ve engaged Katz 360 to represent us in our uncovered territories,” said Doug Sterne, director of audio sales at Pandora. “Interest in Pandora’s unique ad platform certainly extends beyond those key markets such as New York and Los Angeles, so bringing the Katz 360 team onboard allows us to engage a wider array of radio advertisers. We’re looking forward to a highly collaborative and productive working relationship.”
In turn, the addition of the rapidly-growing Pandora will play a significant role in enhancing the Katz Online Network’s scale, allowing the Katz Online team to customize content selections for its national radio advertisers in the markets they will represent for Pandora. Pandora’s audio ad product will now be represented by more than 200 Katz account managers across the country. With its reach and background, Katz will be offering Pandora’s audio ad products to radio media buyers in areas exclusive of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. Sterne’s in-house team will handle those already-established markets as well as calling on interactive buyers in all markets.
“I couldn’t be more excited to reach this agreement with Pandora, as national advertisers in Pandora’s uncovered territories will now have access to the highly attractive demographics of the Pandora listener, combined with the best online audio content of the Katz Online Network,” said Brian Benedik, President of Katz 360, the digital sales arm of the Katz Media Group. “The addition of Pandora will allow us to make even greater strides in working with national advertisers to create strategic, geo-targeted ad campaigns that can be customized to any advertiser’s needs.”
Katz Media Group launched the Katz Online Network in 2008. By adding audio publishers at a rapid pace, the Katz Online Network now delivers more than 80 million listener sessions per month and aggregates well over 8 million listeners a week. The network is sold by a dedicated group of Katz 360 Digital salespeople along with more than 200 account executives within Katz Media who collaborate to maximize the experience for national advertisers and their agencies.
Advertisers are increasingly attracted to online radio listening as consumers in the most sought-after demographics and life stages convert their morning radio listening into an at-work experience. Online radio listening continues to grow at a brisk pace, reaching more than 55 million Americans each week, according to Arbitron and Edison Media Research.
About Pandora
Pandora (www.pandora.com) is a personalized Internet radio and music discovery service available anytime and anywhere on the PC, in the home, and on mobile devices via partnerships with AT&T, Apple and Sprint. Pandora is based on the Music Genome Project begun in 2000 and is the most thorough analysis of popular music ever undertaken. Each song in this massive collection is analyzed by one of more than 30 trained musicians, and assessed against up to nearly 400 distinct musical attributes such as melody, harmony, and rhythm to capture its unique musical identity. Using this information to build playlists based on musical similarity, listeners can simply enter a favorite song or artist, and instantly launch a personalized listening experience which includes discovery of new bands, artists and songs.
About Katz Media Group
Katz Media Group is the nation’s leading full-service media sales and marketing firm serving the broadcasting industry. A subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, Katz Media Group is based in New York and has 19 regional offices. Founded in 1888, the company was the nation’s first media representation firm and today represents more than 3,000 radio stations, 400 television stations and a variety of digital platforms. Additional information can be found at www.katz-media.com.
Media Contacts
Pandora
Vickie Welch
Right Brain Marketing
(530) 550-9314
Katz Media Group
Michael Sherman
(212) 424-6480
michael.sherman@katz-media.com
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