Google strikes advertising deal with XM Satellite By Robert MacMillan http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060802/wr_nm/media_xm_google_dc_4
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc. on Wednesday said it struck a deal with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. to help the search engine's advertisers automatically place ads on XM's non-music radio channels. The deal would give Google advertisers a way to reach XM's more than 7 million subscribers. It also could allow XM to feature new advertisers while lowering the costs related to processing ads, the two companies said. Financial terms were not disclosed. Web search leader Google has been testing ways to apply its technology for selling Internet search listings to more traditional forms of media, from magazines to video. Under the XM deal, Google's AdWords customers would be able to place terrestrial and satellite radio spots through the search engine's dMarc media network, the companies said. The deal does not apply to XM's premium channels, like the Oprah & Friends network and Major League Baseball, XM spokesman Nathaniel Brown said. Instead, it covers fare such as America Right, MSNBC and C-SPAN. Advertising sales remain a small part of XM revenue, but represent one of its fastest growing income segments. In the second quarter, XM's ad revenue more than doubled to nearly $9 million. Mountain View, California-based Google plans to integrate dMarc, which it bought early this year, into AdWords in the fourth quarter, it said. A Google spokesman did not return a telephone call and e-mail message seeking comment. The deal comes a week after Washington, D.C.-based XM cut its subscriber forecast for the year and said its quarterly net loss grew because of higher spending to attract new users. XM expects to end the year with 7.7 million to 8.2 million subscribers, down from its earlier projection of 8.5 million. The company in January had said it hoped to reach more than 9 million subscribers this year. Rival Sirius Satellite Radio, with programming that includes shock jock Howard Stern and the National Football League, ended the quarter with 4.7 million subscribers after taking some market share from XM. XM's shares rose 11 cents, about 1 percent, to $12.30 on the Nasdaq stock market. Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
