LOS ANGELES — Clear Channel Chef Executive Officer Bob Pittman says the radio company will keep part of its iHeart Radio online service ad-free for at least a few more months, explaining that a consumer backlash against ads on Pandora Media Inc.’s competing service serves as a “cautionary tale.”
Pittman said negative listener reaction to Pandora’s in-stream ads has convinced Clear Channel that they are disruptive and annoying.
“When you’re in your music collection, you want to escape from the world. It’s a completely different experience” from traditional radio, he said.
In November, Clear Channel said iHeart Radio would be free of ads through April 1, but Pittman said last week that the company would push back the introduction of ads in the custom section of its music-streaming service until it figures out a way to make them more “compatible” with the user experience.
Twitter is abuzz with comments from people who detest the ads on Pandora. Some tweeters described the ads as mood-killers that made them want to stop listening. Pandora declined to comment.
Since its debut as a public company in June, Pandora has been under pressure to boost the revenue it gets from ads.
Business, Pages 22 on 04/02/2012