Archive for June 10, 2009
Emmis Finally Commits to a Streaming Strategy
Emmis Communications has announced that they will partner with Stream The World as a streaming platform for all of their broadcast streams. AndoMedia will provide audience measurement and ad management tools for the stations. It’s a big announcement, given that Emmis has been slow to commit to a comprehensive streaming strategy for its stations.
As an example, Emmis has just begun streaming WQHT in New York, one of their biggest stations. Emmis has long believed that streaming royalties were cost prohibitive, so they held off putting their largest station online, fearing the audience/royalties that station would rack up.
Ironically, while remaining half-hearted on a streaming strategy, Emmis has taken the lead in developing online web identities for its stations, and invested in Emmis Interactive, an independant unit that provides software tools and consulting services to stations. Emmis Interactive, led by digital experts Deb Esayian and Ray Mena, provides content and database management tools and sales and interactive strategy consulting to a long list of broadcasters (including, of course, the Emmis group).
This is a great move by Emmis that makes a lot of sense. They’ve chosen partners who are market leaders in Stream The World and AndoMedia. AndoMedia has become the defacto audience measurement provider for Internet radio stations, and their ad management tools enable stations to deliver targeted ads and provide excellent impression based accountability to advertisers.
