Jelli is a company that develops programmatic sales products for radio stations. It previously operated an interactive radio service with user-controlled content, which operated from 2009 to 2014.
Video Jelli
Jelli as a crowdsourced radio service
In 2009, Jelli was founded by Michael Dougherty, formerly of Tellme Networks, and Jateen Parekh, formerly of the Amazon Kindle Project. Based on the concept of crowdsourcing, Jelli offered a modernized version of All Request radio and was promoted as a "multiplayer video game on a radio station".
Jelli debuted on CBS Radio-owned KITS in San Francisco on June 28, 2009. After starting out with a Sunday night Jelli show on KITS in 2009, Jelli was further expanded to a Monday through Friday night show called "Free for All" in January 2010, hosted by DJ White Menace. Jelli shows were broadcast on KITS six nights a week.
Listeners would select songs for a radio station via the internet at jelli.com, or an app on either Android based phones or iPhones. Listeners vote on songs to determine the playlists of their online streaming stations and participating radio stations. Users could submit "NO" or "YES" votes for selected songs; winning songs would be played on the radio. Once the song was on the air, users could vote "Rocks" or "Sucks" for the track. If enough users voted "Sucks", the song would be pulled off the air immediately, even if it was broadcast live. A Jelli chat room provided listeners with a place to socialize, request their favorite songs, and organize a community-controlled playlist. As user kept voting, they're going to earn what was called "Rockets" and "Bombs" to get a song go straight to the top 3, or remove it. Users could also earn the "User of the Week" award each week, receiving a special badge on their profile page and a unique sound clip that would play before a track they rocketed.
Expansion
Jelli's success with KITS led to a further expansion of Jelli to other radio stations, and in October 2009, Jelli announced a syndication deal to distribute its programming throughout the United States through the Triton Media Group beginning in early 2010.
In May 2011, Jelli announced it would launch a 24/7 version of its format in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. On June 30, 2011, KXLI and KYLI launched the new Jelli formats, with KXLI carrying a rock format, while KYLI offered a Top 40 remix.
Jelli was also part of a partnership with the Austereo Radio Network, involving a station called Hot 30 Jelli, which was launched on November 1, 2009. The station was then renamed to Choose The Hits on February 1, 2010. It was broadcast online, on DAB and overnights on 2Day FM in Sydney, Fox FM in Melbourne, B105 in Brisbane, SAFM in Adelaide and 92.9 in Perth between 10:15pm and midnight on Monday to Thursday nights. The Austereo partnership was terminated effective May 24, 2010, and Jelli is no longer being carried on the air in Australia.
Change in business plan
On June 29, 2014, Jelli ceased operations as a user-controlled radio platform and turned its focus to selling advertising through the services of co-owned Radiospot.
The move was preceded by the remaining Jelli stations bailing on the format. In 2012, KXLI dropped Jelli when it was sold to a new company who instated a new Spanish-language format. On June 24, 2014, KYLI was relaunched with a variant of the Pulse 87 dance/EDM brand, known as Pulse 96.7. On June 26, Jelli announced it would cease operations; classic rock WJLI in Paducah, Kentucky, and Top 40/CHR KSKR-FM in Roseburg, Oregon immediately dropped the "Jelli" moniker and the platform altogether. The remaining affiliated stations continued to broadcast Jelli shows until 11:59 p.m.(PDT) on June 29, 2014, when the platform shut down for good.
Jelli's announcement marked a change in business plan for the company, as the user-controlled radio platform was shut down. Jelli's primary product was now a programmatic radio platform for automated advertising sales, RadioSpot, which had launched two years earlier.
Maps Jelli
Programmatic advertising
On June 29, 2012, Jelli formally announced its new programmatic advertising platform, RadioSpot. The cloud-based platform functions through a server installed by the station that is triggered by station traffic and automation software. The software also produces logs viewable in real time. Ad copy can be changed with just one to two minutes of lead time.
In March 2014, Jelli unveiled SpotPlan and an API, allowing for advertisers to buy ad time and compare stations through an online interface.
Adoption
Within two years, Jelli had 360 stations on RadioSpot, with large broadcasters including Sun Broadcasting Group, Townsquare Media, and Entercom. Additionally, RadioSpot had entered several new large markets with its debut on WQHT in New York, WPWX and WSRB in Chicago, KKDA-FM in Dallas and WDJQ in Cleveland. Later in 2014, Emmis Communications added WBLS to RadioSpot, and Beasley Broadcast Group entered with stations in Philadelphia, Miami and Las Vegas.
In 2015, iHeartMedia introduced a new programmatic solution for its stations powered by Jelli.
Series B funding
Jelli on June 23, 2015 announced it had closed a $21 million Series B financing round. Investors in the round included Relay Ventures, Intel Capital, First Round Capital, iHeartMedia and Universal Music Group. This funding brings the total amount raised to $37.6 million.
References
Supplementary references
- Music Start-Up Jelli Raises $7 Million, New York Times, May, 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- Jelli crowd-sourcing launches with 10 stations, including a second CBS outlet, Radio-Info.com, March 9, 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- Jelli's User Controlled Radio Gets A Big Win: Live 105 To Use It Daily, Techcrunch, January, 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- Jelli: Making old-fashioned radio hip again, San Jose Mercury News, November, 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
External links
- Jelli official website - jelli
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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