Google's Pondering a Bigger Investment in Radio. Can Goog reinvigorate print and broadcasting, or is the company just spreading its bets? Say what you want about Google’s various entries into the application space, the company understands advertising. For now GOOG owns almost 50 percent of the Web search market, and an even bigger slice of online ads. In the truest sense of the word, AdSense is the Goose that Laid Google’s Golden Eggs. So while Google fine tunes its Software As A Service strategy, it’s not hesitating to use those stuffed coffers to double down in an area it knows well: advertising. According to a report from Reuters, Google is planning to purchase a big chunk of advertising inventory from industry leader Clear Channel, just days after announcing a program to expand ads to 50 print newspapers, as well. And, with rumors swirling that Google plans to gobble up ClearChannel, the company’s investment in “old line” advertising models could become even larger. As with many of Google’s moves (though maybe not YouTube), the print and broadcasting play makes sense. Google is already the platform of choice for the most dynamic and sought after form of ad purchasing: online, while newspapers and the radio industry are still decentralized and encumbered by old models of selling ads and measuring audiences. Google’s already made a substantial investment in radio advertising, buying dMarc Broadcasting in a deal that could cost up to $1 billion — but that was a technology play. It remains to be seen whether Google can reinvigorate these declining mediums, at least as far as advertising dollars or concerned, or whether Google is just spreading its bets around the table. https://mt.infoworld.com/mt-bin/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=2&id=8788&saved_added=1#Quote Technology Industry