• by Ben Frederick  @mp_benfred, July 21, 2016

iHeartMedia, Cumulus, Entercom, Cox, Sun Broadcast Group and Shazam announced a strategic alliance today that will lay the groundwork for a radio audio audience measurement solution in the U.S. that will deliver audience metrics across all formats.

“The richness of our data, combined with Shazam’s measurement capabilities, will enable much deeper insights than traditional audio measurement does,” stated Radha Subramanyam, iHeartMedia’s president of research and insights. She called it a valuable addition to the "evolving multiplatform audio measurement marketplace.”

Shazam, a popular app, says it has exceeded 20 billion total Shazams since its launch. 

iHeartMedia claims over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S. and over 85 million social followers. Entercom Communications Corp. is the fourth-largest radio broadcasting company in the U.S., reaching and engaging more than 40 million people a week.

Until now, Nielsen has measured broadcast radio, and Triton has measured digital. Many companies find themselves looking for a new measurement partner.

“More companies measuring the radio industry is better, and the more data they can provide about our audience, the more competitive we can be with large digital players in addition to TV and other media,” said Subramanyam in an email.

Exactly how audience data sharing and measurement among alliance members will work is unclear. Subramanyam was unwilling to share more details, but the partnership signals a push from radio broadcasters as digital music and radio streaming, as well as podcasting, reach new levels of popularity.

“With this type of innovation, we believe media strategists and planners will be prompted to re-think their media mix models to give radio its fair share of the media buy,” stated David Field, President and CEO of Entercom.