Custom Operating Management System is a First for Podcasting – Providing Speed, Transparency, Accuracy, and Flexibility for Advertisers

New York, NY – September 09, 2020 – CUMULUS MEDIA’S Westwood One, the largest audio network in America, has selected Placements.io, the leader in revenue and billing management for media companies, to create a custom operating management system that will integrate with Megaphone, the largest podcast hosting and monetization platform, as well as their other hosting platforms. The new system will dramatically improve the ease and scalability of Westwood One Podcast Network’s advertising sales operations.

Building off decades of experience creating audio solutions for advertisers, Westwood One worked with Placements.io to design an innovative system that will streamline the buying/selling process and provide the most flexibility for monetizing their podcast advertising inventory. Podcast advertising is a unique, newer channel for marketers, offering the benefits of both traditional radio’s content-based integrations and digital media’s optimization and targeting capabilities. The operating management system will offer a new technology solution that delivers easy scheduling, activation, real-time inventory management, billing, and reporting for podcast publishers that preserves the best of both worlds.

“Podcasting is on fire, and we desperately need automated advertising technology to support this growth, much like those evolutions that have happened in the digital, video, and display worlds,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP Marketing, CUMULUS MEDIA and President, Westwood One. “With Placements.io, we’re pioneering a uniquely powerful and flexible system that improves our ability to serve our advertisers seamlessly, at scale, across our podcast network.”

“As a product-led company, we’re eager to shape the future of podcast ad sales management because it’s our responsibility to support and accelerate the growth of emerging monetization channels for our partners,” said Evan Bowen, SVP of Strategy at Placements. “Podcasting represents a green field opportunity for publishers, and we’re dedicated to enabling advanced feature sets with leading technology that is easy to use and highly scalable,” added Michael Finucane, SVP Sales at Placements.io.

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About Westwood One
Westwood One, the national-facing arm of CUMULUS MEDIA, offers iconic, nationally syndicated sports, news and entertainment content to over 250 million monthly listeners across an audio network of 8,000 affiliated broadcast radio stations and media partners. Westwood One is the largest audio network in America, home to premium content that defines the culture, including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, the Olympics, and Westwood One Backstage. The rapidly growing Westwood One Podcast Network delivers popular network and industry personalities and programs. Westwood One connects listeners with their passions through programs and platforms that have everyone listening. For more information please visit www.westwoodone.com.

About Placements.io
Placements.io is changing the way digital media companies manage their advertising businesses. Placements powers multi-platform ad sales and operations with an industry-leading revenue management SaaS offering. Placements.io creates a connected ecosystem that helps companies to scale quickly and profitably. SKY Broadcasting, IAC, CarGurus.com, and FORTUNE are among the 270 plus media brands that trust Placements.io to manage billions of dollars of revenue annually. Founded in 2014, Placements.io is based in Seattle, WA with offices in New York City and London.

Contacts:
Karen Glover | Westwood One | kglover@westwoodone.com

Emily Riley | Riley Strategic LLC | emily@rileystrategic.com | 914-330-1128