• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 16, 2013

Cumulus Media and digital ad platform Rdio are joining forces with a content and advertising partnership, the companies announced Monday.

Under the terms of the deal, Cumulus will take a financial stake in Rdio parent company Pulser Media in exchange for exclusive content, media, and promotional commitments from Rdio.

Rdio will also launch free, ad-supported products using Cumulus sales personnel and powered by Cumulus content, including music on-demand and custom playlists created by Cumulus.

Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey stated:  “This partnership leverages our premier broadcast and content assets along with Rdio’s acclaimed digital audio platform -- enabling consumers to listen to whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want.”

News of the partnership comes amid increasing competition in the digital radio arena, including the imminent launch of Apple’s iTunes Radio, backed by a robust advertising effort, with launch advertisers including McDonald’s, Nissan, Procter & Gamble, and Pepsi, according to Ad Age.

Another digital radio contender, Spotify, is aggressively promoting its own free, ad-supported audio service. And Pandora recently named Brian McAndrews, formerly of aQuantive, as its new CEO, suggesting an increased focus on advertising.

Cumulus has been making a series of strategic moves to expand its content offerings and distribution. Last year, it struck a deal with Clear Channel to bring its streaming audio content to the latter’s iHeartRadio platform. 

In August, Cumulus announced it is buying Dial Global, which produces and syndicates radio content in categories including news, talk, sports and music programming, for $260 million in cash. The acquisition of Dial will make Cumulus more competitive against various rivals, including Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks and ESPN Radio .