Insider Chatter by Donna Bogatin

Who says Internet radio is in a shambles? NOT Jennifer Lane, an Internet radio veteran and president of Katz Net Radio Sales.

I heard her make the case yesterday in New York City for why online radio is poised to exploit the “exploding digital media world” despite the current uncertainties regarding imending changes in royalty payment requirements for the use of music over the Internet.

Participating in a NYMIEG panel on the “Future of Radio,’ Lane underscored Katz’ belief that the estimated 70 million strong monthly Internet radio audience offers unique advertising opportunities for marketers:

Millions of Americans listen to Internet radio every day. Because they are listening at their computers, they can instantly react to an advertising message and get more information or make a purchase online.

Katz Net Radio Sales Commercial Internet Radio Network represents the largest network of independent Internet radio stations available to advertisers today (1000 plus, both braodcast and Internet-only stations); Stations offered stream over 15 million hours of listening per month to about 5 million unique listeners. The Katz Net Radio Sales network is built on a digital platform that designed for a high degree of accountability: Inegrated audience tracking, order placement, reporting and invoicing.

Katz Net Radio Sales sells advertising across its digital network of Internet station affiliates and says it provides “exact audience data measurement and impression measurement for every campaign.” Lane indicated CPMs in the $4-$9 range.

Joel Smernoff, President of Paltalk, also is bullish on Intertnet radio. Paltalk claims to be “the world’s largest live video chat community,” boasting 4 million plus members.

Prior to Paltalk, Smernoff helped create one of AOL’s first brand extensions, AOL for Small Business. At Paltlalk, Smernoff is evangelizing for Internet radio to embrace “social casting” via two-way in-chat room dialogues.

More than 12% of American adults are estimated to listen to Internet radio. Joel Smernoff of Paltalk and Jennifer Lane of Latz Net radio Sales are but two of the industry’s innovators seeking to further develop radio online.

ALSO: Bid4Spots CEO on eBay Radio Ad Sales Deal PLUS: Why Google MUST Buy Facebook: Universal Search Envy

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN

Radio industry veteran Dave Newmark is not shy in detailing the inroads the company he founded and leads, Bid4Spots, is making in disrupting the long standing way of doing radio business, radio advertising business. And why should he be?

After all, Google touts a good radio advertising diversification game, but hasn’t even officially launched a radio advertising product! Bid4Spots, on the other hand, is dedicated to the business of radio advertising and has a track record, to boot.

Bid4Spots took another (big) step today in its quest to “build marketplaces for radio advertising that work”:

eBay has selected Bid4Spots to power the eBay Media Marketplace for Radio

How did Bid4Spots garner the high profile deal? I spoke with Newmark today to get his direct take.

I have chatted with Newmark before about Bid4Spots, he is passionate about the problem he is out to solve and believes his company has a concrete, winning formula for all constituencies in the radio advertising buying and selling marketplace.

Newmark created Bid4Spots to help end both advertiser and radio station “frustation with the process of buying and selling last-minute radio time.” Bid4Spots has been hosting weekly online auctions of radio airtime for more than two years.

Why did eBay choose Bid4Spots? Newmark told me his company’s breadth of prime radio advertising inventory availability is unmatched. Bid4Spots is opening up radio advertising inventory to eBay from “over 2300 stations in all 300 top-ranked Arbitron DMAs.”

eBay, on the other hand, is to open up advertisers to Bid4Spots, hopefully. Bid4Spots can quantify and qualify the radio advertising inventory availability it contributes to eBay’s Media Marketplace. eBay, however, is known for its vast numbers of buyers and sellers of goods, not for a base of ready to go advertisers.

eBay itself indirectly acknowledges that its asset base of ”advertisers” is unproven, saying it has “reach and scale among POTENTIAL advertisers.”

Newmark confirmed to me that the eBay-Bid4Spots deal is structured as a “standard revenue sharing commercial agreement.”

Regardless if eBay is able to deliver advertisers, or not, Bid4Spots has further strengthened its position in the battle to “revolutionize” radio ad sales. The Bid4Spots marketplace model and radio station advertising inventory assets were both validated today, big time, by a big player, eBay.

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN