Pandora Wants to Disrupt Traditional Radio: CEO
Special to CNBC.com
Internet radio company Pandora is "laser focused" on expanding its market share and disrupting the traditional radio business, CEO Joseph Kennedy told CNBC Wednesday.
"We've had terrific growth in consumer personalized radio," he said.
"In the short run we really continue to focus on investing (in) this tremendous opportunity to disrupt the traditional radio business. Today we only have a bit more than 4 percent of all radio listening in this country," he added, which "illustrates how much opportunity lies ahead of us."
Pandora , which went public in June, had 49 million active users as of the end of October, Kennedy said, and its share of the Internet radio market has growth from 65 percent to 68 percent.
The company is also working hard to disrupt the traditional radio advertising market. Kennedy said the many companies jumping into Internet music do not concern Pandora because most are not getting into radio, whereas Pandora is "laser focussed" on that sector.
He said several companies, including Acura, Kiaand most recently Audiovox, are installing Internet radio featuring Pandora in their vehicles. "The car market is a tremendous opportunity," Kennedy said.