Clear Channel Interactive today announced that will partner with Hiwire to provide ad insertion services for the Internet streams of all of Clear Channel’s radio properties in the top 50 U.S. markets.
The deal will utilize Hiwire’s live stream ad targeting and delivery technology, with a scheduled roll out of 250 stations beginning in July 2001.
With Hiwire’s ad insertion technology, Clear Channel stations will be able to replace broadcast ads with streamed audio ads that can be targeted to specific listeners. Hiwire technology will be embedded in the encoding system of the streaming provider chosen by CCI.
Kevin Mayer, CEO of Clear Channel Interactive said in a printed statement, “With the remarkable growth of Internet audio over the last several years, Clear Channel vowed to find a comprehensive approach to streaming that made both legal and financial sense. Hiwire has a proven track record of serving ads for Internet radio and has the infrastructure in place to handle our significant ad inventory.”
The deal is massive when viewed from the standpoint of potential ad revenue from inserted ads. Conservative estimates place the online ad inventory for Clear Channel’s top 50 markets at over one billion ad impressions in the first year alone.
“To generate advertising revenue through streaming, you need critical mass,” said Warren Schlichting, Hiwire’s chief executive officer. “Adding 250 Clear Channel stations to the Hiwire network brings our ad serving reach to over 40 percent of the entire streaming audio market.”