Henry Blodget offers this interview Josh Wexler, founder of SoftWave Media Exchange, which competes with Google’s nascent efforts in the radio and TV world. From Henry’s summary of the interview:
* Despite investing heavily in its radio and TV placement efforts, Google is badly lagging SWMX, especially in radio.
* In radio, Google sells remnant inventory, but the real business is in regularly scheduled inventory. SWMX generates more than 80% of its revenue from this.
* Google’s attitude–revolutionize the way advertisers buy advertising–has offended many traditional media owners and is hampering growth. SWMX is growing rapidly because it facilitates existing business practices.
* The current process by which radio and TV advertising is bought and sold is grossly inefficient. This creates an opportunity for electronic marketplaces.
* eBay’s media-selling initiative was considered ‘dead on arrival.’
* Companies like Spot Runner, which generate a lot of buzz, focus primarily on content creation and campaign planning. These companies are complementary to SWMX, which focuses on the back-end.
* SWMX expects to turn cash-flow positive later this year. Wexler believes the company’s current cash position will support its near-term initiatives.
* If Google were to buy a company like SWMX, this would require a change of approach to the radio and TV markets.
* The Google-Echostar announcement is more style than substance.