• Ad Age, Tuesday, April 25, 2006 11:16 AM

It was always too big an opportunity to pass up, and now it's finally happening: Apple will sell ads on iTunes, Ad Age reports. This doesn't necessarily mean the floodgates have opened, however--there are no plans to sell ads on the iPod, for example--but Apple has told content partners it will sell billboards on iTunes. It's unclear from the report, but it would seem Apple intends to begin testing by offering up the tiny billboard space that appears on the lower-left corner of the iTunes library as users listen to podcasts, but the placement of video ads marks a step forward in Apple's advertising efforts, which have thus far been limited to audio spots embedded in certain podcasts. What does this mean for other iTunes content? You can bet you'll be seeing targeted ads on iTunes in the near future, especially as iPod and content sales level off once these products hit a critical mass. Apple will need to diversify. Another problem that may lead it down the ad-support path is the free, ad-supported streaming video offered up by Disney and, soon, others. No longer will the networks count on Apple to sell episodes of their content once consumers can watch them online for free. Oh yeah, and don't forget the pending assault on the digital distribution front once the likes of Amazon and MTV/Microsoft enter the digital media space.

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