Search engine kingpin Google Inc. said Thursday it’s shedding an unprofitable business that it first got into via an Orange County acquisition.
Google said it’s looking to exit its radio advertising business because it did not “have the impact we hoped for,” according to a report in the New York Times, which cited a Google blog post.
The company first got into the business with its 2006 buy of Newport Beach’s dMarc Broadcasting Inc.
Google paid an initial $102 million for dMarc, with provisions that it could pay up to about $1 billion if goals were met. It’s still unclear how much Google ended up paying in all.
It folded dMarc into a division called Google Radio and moved it into its offices in Irvine in 2006.
Google said some 40 workers would see job cuts, according to the report.
It was unclear how many are from the Irvine offices, where the company’s Google Radio efforts were based.
DMarc was the brainchild of a local pair of serial entrepreneurs, brothers Chad and Ryan Steelberg.
Started in 2002, dMarc offered software and computers to radio stations that want to send targeted messages to listeners via radio waves.
The system allows stations to more easily schedule and deliver ads and keep track of when they air.
After the acquisition, Ryan Steelberg became head of radio operations and Chad Steelberg general manager.
The two stepped down from their posts at Google in early 2007 to start Brand Affinity Technologies, an online advertising startup with a focus on sports and entertainment.
“Despite our departure from Google, Ryan and I are disappointed in Google’s announcement this afternoon of its decision to shut down the audio broadcast division,” Chad Steelberg said in a statement. “dMarc Broadcasting’s technology and business formed the backbone of the Google audio services for both traditional and online advertisers.”
In 2004, dMarc bought Dallas-based Scott Studios and Computer Concepts, a company that makes software used in radio stations, for nearly $30 million.
Its services caught on fast with some 4,000 broadcasters using its software at its peak.
DMarc was the Steelbergs’ third major venture together.
In 1999, the Steelbergs sold AdForce Inc., a Web advertising company they started in Costa Mesa in 1995, to CMGI Inc. for $500 million.
The duo had less luck with Winfire Inc., a high-speed Internet provider the brothers started in 2000.
Winfire created a buzz with its catchy free digital subscriber line service. The company folded six months later amid troubles getting phone lines and high set-up costs.
