• by Erik Sass , October 18, 2011

The social commerce marketplace is booming, and broadcast radio -- with its extensive local sales presence and audience reach -- is a natural promotional partner. Clear Channel Radio has signed a deal making LivingSocial the exclusive provider of daily deals for the radio giant, reaching over 80 million listeners per week via 500 Clear Channel stations in 90 cities nationwide.

As part of the partnership, Clear Channel radio personalities will promote the LivingSocial daily deal for their local marketplace, featuring discounts of at least 50%. The information will also be available on each station’s Web site. Clear Channel will also promote non-local LivingSocial offerings, including LivingSocial Escapes (“vacation-in-a-box” getaways) and Adventures packages.

Clear Channel Radio is just the latest big media company to hop on the group commerce bandwagon.

In July Gannett Co. launched DealChicken, a group discount platform drawing on the company's considerable local sales force, which Gannett expects to introduce to over 40 additional markets by the end of the year.

McClatchy Co. has gradually rolled out its new Dealsaver program, reaching all local markets served by the newspaper publisher in September. Also last month, the Associated Press and 40 of its largest newspaper partners have moved to enhance ad circulars by integrating mobile advertising, including location-specific offers and interactive tools.

In March, an industry forecast from the Local Offer Network, which aggregates daily deals, predicted that the U.S. group-buying marketplace should increase from $1.1 billion in 2010 to $2.7 billion in 2011. While a few big players still dominate the field -- most notably Groupon and LivingSocial -- analysts agree that it remains highly competitive as new players emerge at the local, regional and national level.