Clear Channel Showcases On-Demand Video Content

Clear Channel Radio’s Online Music & Radio unit is aggressively adding video impressions to its local stations’ Web sites. Tomorrow, it’s expected to roll out a beta test of a free feature called Videos on Demand, which will appear on 16 station sites.

Eventually, the local Clear Channel stations will be able to sell :15 pre-roll spots into the programming. The media company’s other online video offerings — NEW! and Stripped — have attracted local advertisers as well as national players, such as Virgin Mobile, Comcast, Budweiser, Corona, Time Warner’s Road Runner, and Arby’s. So far, 210 stations in 71 markets have sold video advertising online, according to a company spokesperson. Rep firm Ronning Lipset radio also sells online ads for Clear Channel.

The Videos on Demand feature, which will showcase music videos from Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music, among other labels, will appear on 16 radio station Web sites in five major markets — New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. It will also allow people to access archived videos from the New! and Stripped sites.

Content on each station’s site will be tailored to the audience it serves, meaning stations can feature certain content and cross-promote on-air personalities. Listeners will be able to vote for their favorite artist’s video and can buy artists’ CDs and forward links to videos to a friend.

“We see Videos on Demand as a powerful complement to our on-air programming and the next natural step in serving our audience’s growing appetite for on-demand content,” said Evan Harrison, EVP of Clear Channel Radio and head of the online music and radio unit, in a statement.

Since Harrison, a former AOL Music executive, joined Clear Channel, the company has made strides in addressing the online opportunity. More than 400 of Clear Channel’s stations now provide streams of their content, and many now also provide podcasts.

Clear Channel plans to eventually roll out Videos on Demand to all its radio station sites across the country.