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TuneIn Pre-Roll Ads -- Becoming a Problem for Internet Broadcasters?

R

radiojomo

Anyone else notice that TuneIn is being a little too aggressive with the pre-roll and mid-roll ads for internet broadcasters?

We've discussed it a bit over on an internet broadcasting Facebook group, but TuneIn now plays pre-roll ads on every play through every app they are compatible with, including their own app and website, Alexa, Sonos Radio and Apple Music.

Keep in mind, internet broadcasters are paying $249 per quarter to have their station on TuneIn.
 
My opinion is that it's a terrible platform for a station to be on. Mid-roll ads are jarring, and they suggest your competitors in a "you might also like..." section.

They provide services like RadioDNS and Alexa inclusion as selling points, but stations can do that themselves, although it requires some technical know-how.

Not sure how useful of a tool it is for station discovery, as you're listed as one among thousands.

Are the pre and mid-roll ads profit-sharing with the station/content creator?
 
There is no profit sharing between TuneIn and the station creator.

TuneIn originally sold the "On Air" program as a way for internet broadcasters to get themselves on the TuneIn platform -- but they are essentially taking $249 per quarter + this pre/midroll ad revenue they are not sharing back with the creators.

The problem is that Amazon defaults the radio backend of Alexa via Tune In. Anyone can create a skill but the listener needs to enable it.
 
radiojomo said:
The problem is that Amazon defaults the radio backend of Alexa via Tune In. Anyone can create a skill but the listener needs to enable it.
Click to expand...

Part of that may be that Amazon would prefer users to subscribe to Amazon Music rather than use the free default.

The bigger picture is that TuneIn is in financial trouble. Before the pandemic, they thought they could create a lot of original stations and programming, and people would listen. Turned out those in-house stations were a flop, not unlike the Spotify and Apple Radio stations. So now they're returning to the original model, as a platform for existing stations.
 
TheBigA said:
Part of that may be that Amazon would prefer users to subscribe to Amazon Music rather than use the free default.

The bigger picture is that TuneIn is in financial trouble. Before the pandemic, they thought they could create a lot of original stations and programming, and people would listen. Turned out those in-house stations were a flop, not unlike the Spotify and Apple Radio stations. So now they're returning to the original model, as a platform for existing stations.
Click to expand...
From a user experience perspective, it doesn't make sense for Amazon to encourage TuneIn to add pre-roll ads on station launch commands. I would think that Amazon could just make Alexa default users to Amazon Music if they wanted them to.

It's just odd that TuneIn would charge internet broadcasters for the privilege to be on their platform and then run ads at the top and middle of their streams without any revenue split or even information as to what ads would be running alongside the content.
 
In my opinion, the pre-roll ads looks like a money grab. It seems it was not thought through as for the listener’s experience. An example, while listening to a national syndicated show the other morning, the pre-rolls ads would prompt middle of a talk and music break. I notice the pre-roll ads come in every 5-6 mins in an hour.
 
UrbanRadio718 said:
In my opinion, the pre-roll ads looks like a money grab.
Click to expand...

Of course it is! They've got to make money somehow. They had intended to create a subscription service, but it was a failure. So now the emphasis will be on advertising. Is it sloppy? Of course it is. It's all automated. No staff waiting for an appropriate time.
 
Two major problems with pre-roll ads:

1. Internet radio should be an experience as good as broadcast radio and satellite radio. You should turn it on and instantly hear the content. Pre-roll ads are the modern equivalent of waiting for the tubes in an old radio to warm up. This is 2022, not 1962. Changing stations should be easy and quick. The suits might not like it but, let's face it, people like to channel surf. If you can do it with SiriusXM but not streaming radio, who you gonna choose?

2. If you're driving in an area with weak data, or if your phone frequently switches wi-fi access points, the momentary glitch will cause the pre-roll ad to play again ... and again ... and again. I've learned what stations NOT to stream in the car.

If the objective of streaming broadcast radio is to attract the largest possible audience, it seems to me pre-roll ads are a killer. Don't the suits care about turning listeners away?

At long last, many streams are starting to carry locally targeted ads so that distant listeners can be monetized. That's a very good thing -- why blow it with pre-roll ads?

To their credit, iHeart stations, at least the ones I listen to, don't have pre-roll ads. If they can do it, others should be able to as well.
 
wadio said:
Pre-roll ads are the modern equivalent of waiting for the tubes in an old radio to warm up.
Click to expand...

Huh? Two very different things. A better analogy is paying a toll before you're allowed to cross a bridge.

The reason for the pre-roll is to get payment before delivering the content.

wadio said:
If the objective of streaming broadcast radio is to attract the largest possible audience,
Click to expand...

It isn't. That's the objective of broadcast radio.
 
TheBigA said:
Huh? Two very different things. A better analogy is paying a toll before you're allowed to cross a bridge.

The reason for the pre-roll is to get payment before delivering the content.
Click to expand...

No, you pay the toll once, not before and during your bridge crossing.
 
I'll give you a better one. Suppose Amazon charged you a toll to enter their site?

Radio pre-roll ads are a charge for the privilege of tuning in to hear more ads!
 
wadio said:
No, you pay the toll once, not before and during your bridge crossing.
Click to expand...

If you use the Garden State Parkway, they will charge you when you enter, and then at subsequent milage markers depending on how far you drive.

wadio said:
Radio pre-roll ads are a charge for the privilege of tuning in to hear more ads!
Click to expand...

One could say the same thing about any ad-based platform.
 
It's inevitable that ads will continue to pop up in more and more places, both online and on air. Remember the good old days when traffic reports didn't have a "brought to you by..." segment on the end that's almost as long as the traffic report itself? Now I'm even starting to hear commercials embedded in live-read top-of-hour newscasts.
 
TheBigA said:
The subject here is streaming radio. Not unlike cable TV, where you pay for the service, and then get channels that air commercials.
Click to expand...
No, the subject is whether pre-roll ads are harmful. OTA isn't capable of pre-roll ads, otherwise we'd have them.

This is a perfect example of, "Why? Because we can!" Doesn't mean it's a good idea.

The model for many businesses is, "let them in the door, then charge them." Computer and phone apps work that way.

The question is whether the revenue from pre-roll ads is worth the potential loss of listeners to stations without them, including SiriusXM.
 
kevtronics said:
It's inevitable that ads will continue to pop up in more and more places, both online and on air. Remember the good old days when traffic reports didn't have a "brought to you by..." segment on the end that's almost as long as the traffic report itself? Now I'm even starting to hear commercials embedded in live-read top-of-hour newscasts.
Click to expand...
I hadn't heard of studio sponsorships until 10 years ago at most
 
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