Pandora is a leader in internet radio in the United States. The
company offers a form of radio that provides personalized
experiences for each listener based on their feedback. Apart from
the products availability over the internet, Pandora has also
launched apps available on Apple's (
AAPL
) iPhone, Research in Motion's (
RIMM
) BlackBerry and other smartphones operating on Google's (
GOOG
) Android OS. Pandora has also developed relationships with auto
manufacturers like Ford (
F
) and BMW (GR:BMW).
As of January 2011, Pandora had over 80 million registered
users, adding a new registered user almost every second. Pandora
has over 50% market share in internet radio listening time among
the top 20 stations and networks in the United States.
Pandora Coverage Launch - $984 Million Valuation
We have broken down our analysis of Pandora into three main
business segments:
1.
Mobile Advertising
2.
Online Advertising
3.
Subscription
Growth in Listeners
Pandora's number of registered users has grown considerably in
the past few years. The firm's unique ability to develop programs
that cater to the tastes of individual music listeners has driven
user growth. On top of that, increased smartphone usage has helped
grow Pandora's mobile platform as well. In 2008 it accounted
for less than 10% of listener hours, however by the early part of
2011 this figure had increased to over 50%. The firm is
actively strengthening its partnerships with consumer electronics
manufacturers and looking to grow its presence in the automobile
market for integration of Pandora's music services in
automobiles.
Attractive Advertisement Base
Pandora has positioned itself to become a useful advertising
platform for various institutions. The strong user base, growth in
streaming hours and diversity in user base has attracted many
advertisers. The firm enables both local and national advertisers
to reach listeners based on their demographics and music type and
offers advertisers the ability to choose from a variety
of advertisement products which include display, audio
and video advertising. Pandora's mobile app is currently one of the
most widely used, adding to the attractiveness of the platform to
advertisers.
See our full analysis for Pandora here