1-8-2015
That's the lead sentence in an article that appeared on USA Today, covering Pandora Chief Financial Officer Mike Herring's remarks at the CES. Herring went on record during an edition of #TalkingTech live @CES2015, saying Pandora was, "Number one in 14 of the top 15 radio markets." According to Herring, "With Pandora's 76 million listeners monthly, traditional radio isn't even close."
That certainly is some interesting math. One has to wonder about Herring's remarks coming out the same day as Jeff Smulyan's Emmis quarterly earnings conference call. When Jeff was asked about the threat of streaming, with Pandora's recent quarters showing growth in advertising, the Emmis CEO noted that while he applauds streamers and that Emmis too is solidly behind streaming for it's value to listeners, no one yet has found a sustainable business model for streaming. Smulyan noted, "It's a market that has never created one penny of profitability." Reiterating his oft-quoted remark from his Slate interview, ?We make more money before lunch than Pandora has made in its history."
Below is the audio of the interview with Pandora Chief Financial Officer Mike Herring at the CES. Radio chatter begins at about 7:00 in.
(1/11/2015 7:57:48 AM)
Lemme unnerstand this: One portal (Pandora) picks up 76 million listeners while 9000 radio stations enjoy 250 million.
Looks like a win for the not-a-radio-station Pandora.
I also accept the standard-issue whine that commercial radio runs spots. Yeah - very bad, irritating, insulting, and abusive commercials.
" According to Herring, "With Pandora's 76 million listeners monthly, traditional radio isn't even close."
He's right. Radio has 250 million monthly listeners, so, radio ISN'T even close. It's so far ahead it's ridiculous.
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