VNU Turns to Podbridge to Deliver Trackable and Dynamic Advertising Solution for Podcasts

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Podbridge, Inc., the leading audio and video podcast advertising service, today announced that it has been selected by VNU Business Publications Ltd (BPL), the London-based publishing arm of VNU Business Media Europe (BME) and a leading UK business-to-business and consumer publisher, to provide an audience measurement and ad insertion service for its portfolio of highly popular podcasts. VNU BPL joins other large publishers, including recently announced Forbes.com, who are developing significant ad-supported downloadable content businesses.

“These well established brands with highly segmented and identifiable audiences are a perfect fit for downloadable content; we’re excited to help them build a profitable podcasting business.”

“This partnership allows VNU BPL to serve dynamic audio advertising into our podcasts and also allows us to back this up with auditable audience figures, a key demand of the advertising community,” stated Duncan Tickell, Publishing Director at VNU Business Publications Ltd. “Podbridge will help us to deliver a tangible and consistent return on our expanding audio and video content portfolio.”

The implementation of Podbridge’s audience measurement and ad insertion service is the second step in VNU BPL’s strategic initiative, ON AIR. Announced in June, VNU ON AIR is a portfolio of Internet-delivered audio and video content which incorporates a mix of up-to-date news, product and technology know-how, and high-level industry discussion and debate, aimed at the four million users per month of VNU BPL’s 20 online and offline brands in the UK. The programming delivered through these new video and audio packages will appeal to the company’s three core audiences: B2B IT buyers, consumer technology users, and financial management professionals. Podbridge was chosen for the accuracy of its audience measurement capabilities, and the ability to maximize revenue through targeted advertising insertion and rotation.

“We’re excited to be working with VNU, a global publishing powerhouse widely respected for their 50 market-leading trade magazines and properties,” stated Murgesh Navar, CEO and founder of Podbridge. “These well established brands with highly segmented and identifiable audiences are a perfect fit for downloadable content; we’re excited to help them build a profitable podcasting business.”

VNU ON AIR facilities include four studios and a theatre space suitably equipped to deliver live-to-air, streamed, and downloadable content in a variety of packages, including videocasts, podcasts, news broadcasts, seminars, conference reports, and video product reviews. VNU ON AIR can be accessed at: www.vnunet.com/onair.

The Podbridge system is unique in its ability to offer accurate audience metrics, including the number of actual “plays” combined with user opt-in demographics, for both video and audio podcasts. Podbridge is the first and only company to dynamically insert, rotate, and target audio and video advertisements into downloaded content via a turnkey solution for publishers. By providing a way for publishers to add to and refresh their advertising inventory, Podbridge is increasing the total number of available impressions that can be offered to advertisers at any given time, maximizing the value of the content.

About Podbridge:

Founded in 2005, Podbridge provides a video and audio podcast audience measurement and advertising insertion service. The company is focused on helping media companies extend their profitable content business into podcasting. The founding team has filed four patents for its technology. The company’s service is currently in use by Forbes.com, Clear Channel Radio, BBC, Military.com, Sports Byline USA and other partners. Blue-chip venture capital firms Mayfield Fund and Worldview Technologies have provided Series A funding. Located in Mountain View, CA, more information can be found at: www.podbridge.com.

About VNU Business Publications Ltd. (http://marketing.vnu.co.uk)

VNU Business Publications Ltd. is a leading UK business to business and consumer publisher. It specialises in three main areas: professional IT, consumer technology and business & finance. VNU publishes 20 cross media brands including Computing, IT Week, CRN, Computeractive, Personal Computer World, Accountancy Age, Financial Director and VNUnet.com. In January, VNU acquired the Inquirer, making the VNU Network the largest online technology network in the UK attracting more than 4 million users per month.

VNU Business Publications is part of VNU Business Media Europe (http://www.vnubme.com) owned by VNU the global information and media company active in more than 100 countries (http://www.vnu.com).

VNU BME has a leading online position in the IT publishing industry in Europe via its network of VNUnet sites that reach over 10 million unique users per month. VNUnet is a one-stop-shop to gather information and news about trends, products and software in the IT world, including solid analysis from VNU’s leading print brands such as Computing, Computable and Computeractive.