Digital Radio and Video Advertising Mix As Slacker Signs Up With YuMe

Digital radio is all the rage these days, and now Slacker Radio, one of the key players, is looking to further monetize its audience through video advertising, by partnering with ad manager YuMe. Under the deal, being announced this morning, Slacker will use YuMe's ACE for Publishers (AFP) ad serving platform to insert ads across multiple devices. Slacker will sell its own ads and will also tap into YuMe's ad network.

Initially ad insertions are planned for when users change stations though this would be a departure from today's approach where users can seamlessly change stations and begin listening immediately. Today banner ads appear on Slacker, which also operates a freemium model (with upselling to its Slacker Radio Plus and Slacker Premium Radio services) plus numerous commerce opportunities to buy songs, etc. With video CPMs running strong against premium content and a large audience against which to monetize, video ads are a natural for Slacker as long as it can balance user experience considerations.

Categories: Advertising, Music

Topics: Slacker Radio, YuMe