New Original Research Will Enhance Brand
Safety Capabilities to Enable Better Monetization for BIPOC
Audio Content
NEW
YORK, Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Urban
One Inc., the largest African American owned and operated
multi-media company, reaching over 80% of Black America, and
Sounder, a contextual intelligence platform for audio, announced a
partnership to conduct groundbreaking research. This research
project aims to improve podcast ad technology to ensure equal
monetization opportunities for all creators of audio content. The
research will specifically address the industry's
generally limited brand safety technology capabilities for BIPOC
audio content, with the goal of scaling new solutions that enable
advertisers to sponsor BIPOC audio content at a higher rate and
with greater confidence.
With this partnership, Sounder will work closely with Radio One
and Reach Media, Urban One's audio divisions, as well
as the new Urban One Podcast Network, to analyze a variety of
content from its catalog and create a report identifying strengths
and challenges facing audio ad technology in classifying diverse
media. The results will further inform and refine
Sounder's industry-leading brand safety and
suitability solutions driven by AI/ML models, addressing these
challenges, and setting a new, fairer standard for the
industry.
"As the leader in urban-formatted content, Urban
One's mission has always been to do our part in
educating our partners, ourselves, our clients, and the broader
industry on the evolving cultural landscape of Black America," said
Josh Rahmani, CRO, Urban One, Audio
Division. "Through this work we hope to bring
awareness of Black culture and its nuances to the industry at large
and support an ecosystem of the diverse voices that drive
mainstream culture."
"Sounder was founded on the belief that we could
help diverse voices connect with listeners who cared about what
they had to say. We also believe that these voices should have the
same ability to monetize and fund their content," said Kal Amin, co-founder and CEO of Sounder.
"Yet suitability and brand safety can't
be optimized until technology catches up to culture and
holistically supports a thriving, diverse world of audio content.
Our mission to transform audio insights includes redefining the
brand safety status quo with contextual intelligence tools to
support diverse creators."
Legacy brand safety and suitability technology across media
types disproportionately flags and restricts diverse voices due to
inaccurate classification and discriminatory blocklists. These
blunt, all-or-nothing tools misrepresent and underprivilege Black
content. Through this research, Urban One and Sounder aim to
develop a more nuanced approach that will refine speech
classification accuracy and sensitivity, delivering significantly
better performance and restoring parity to content advertising.
Podcasting's growth is accelerating. The number of
regular listeners is set to top 160 million this year.
Simultaneously, Black audiences are becoming more engaged, with the
most recent Black Podcast Listener Report noting that listenership
climbed 53% in the course of a single year. With the importance and
influence of Black creators and consumers rising, research that
supports parity is vital for continued growth.
About Sounder:
Sounder is the end-to-end podcast
management platform that brings Audio Intelligence
to creators and media publishers. Founded in 2019 by
former Google and Spotify executives, Sounder connects creators and
enterprises to the Audio Intelligence solutions they need to
accelerate their content's discovery, engagement, and monetization
potential. Through the Audio Data Cloud, Sounder gives enterprises
access to insights that inform strategy and improve monetization.
Learn more and join Sounder's community of creators at
sounder.fm.
About Urban One:
Urban One Inc.
(urban1.com), together with its subsidiaries, is the
largest diversified media company that primarily targets Black
Americans and urban consumers in the
United States. The Company owns TV One, LLC
(tvone.tv), a television network serving
more than 59 million households, offering a broad range of original
programming, classic series and movies designed to entertain,
inform, and inspire a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. As
of September 30, 2022, we owned
and/or operated 66 independently formatted, revenue producing
broadcast stations (including 55 FM or AM stations, 9 HD
stations, and the 2 low power television stations)
branded under the tradename "Radio One" in 13 urban
markets in the United States.
Through its controlling interest in Reach Media, Inc.
(blackamericaweb.com), the Company also
operates syndicated programming including the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the Russ Parr
Morning Show, and the DL Hughley Show. In addition to
its radio and television broadcast assets, Urban One owns
iOne Digital (ionedigital.com), our
wholly owned digital platform serving the African American
community through social content, news, information, and
entertainment websites, including its Cassius,
Bossip, HipHopWired and MadameNoire
digital platforms and brands. We also have invested in a
minority ownership interest in MGM National Harbor, a
gaming resort located in Prince George's
County, Maryland. Through our national multi-media
operations, we provide advertisers with a unique and powerful
delivery mechanism to the African American and urban
audiences.
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SOURCE Urban One, Inc.