SAN ANTONIO, TX (CelebrityAccess) — Radio and streaming giant iHeartMedia announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Jelli, Inc., a major radio marketing and ad sales service.
Jelli, via their SoundPoint platform, enables programmatic buying and selling of broadcast radio ad time. iHeartMedia anticipates that the acquisition will position them to be better able to compete with other digital music providers by creating digital-compatible buying platform for broadcast radio that includes targeting and creative optimization based on data and attribution tools compatible with the offerings of the major digital players.
In addition, “Expressway from Katz,” the industry’s programmatic buying ad exchange for radio groups, will continue to remain independently run by Katz, powered by Jelli.
Jelli’s services include RadioSpot, a programmatic platform for radio broadcasters to sell and manage their advertising inventory and SpotPlan, a programmatic platform for radio, delivering agencies and advertisers an automated way to plan and buy audio advertising and providing access to iHeartMedia as well as Expressway from Katz.
“Facebook and Google pioneered a new way for advertisers to interface with media partners to improve targetability, the ease of buying and measurement of results, and our programmatic platform puts us in the position to participate in the modern data-driven ecosystem for our broadcast radio audience as well as our digital audiences,” said Brian Kaminsky, President of SmartAudio and Analytics Group for iHeartMedia. “We have been excited by the advances we made with Jelli as our partner and the acceptance from our advertising partners.”
The announcement of the acquisition is a good sign for iHeartMedia, which has been making its way through a precarious bankruptcy after defaulting on more than 20bn in debt earlier this year. The company is slated to emerge from bankruptcy in December if their reorganization plan is approved by the court.
