Google closes radio advertising arm

Google is to shut its radio ads business as attempts to take its online dominance into the offline market continue to falter.

Google said 40 jobs are at risk as it looks to sell its Radio Automation business and close the AdSense for Audio and Audio Ads services at the end of May, after conceding they had underperformed.

Google VP of product management Susan Wojcicki said despite investing heavily in the two-year-old service, it hadn’t generated adequate returns.

“While we’ve devoted substantial resources to developing these products and learned a lot along the way, we haven’t had the impact we hoped for,” she said. “So, we’ve decided to exit the broadcast radio business and focus our efforts in streaming audio.”

Wojcicki’s comments echo those made by Google director Spencer Spinnell last month when he announced the closure of its print ads business, another attempt to increase its offline footprint.

Google launched its radio ads programme in 2007 following a $102m cash acquisition of DMarc Broadcasting a year earlier. The deal could have risen to more than $1bn dependant on its ongoing success.

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