Pandora Hopes That Video Saves the Fading Radio Star

Pandora (NYSE: P) may be falling out of favor with both investors and music fans, but it's hoping that a new video ad platform will help improve its standing on both fronts. Pandora announced Tuesday that it's making Video Plus available to all of its advertisers.

Video Plus allows Pandora's non-paying customers to enjoy some of the perks it offers premium subscribers in exchange for viewing 15 seconds of a video ad. Opting in on the brand-building eye candy allows accounts to temporarily replay tracks or skip more songs. Some will argue that this is a dumb move, giving more of Pandora's freeloaders a reason to stay that way. There's not much of an incentive to pay up for Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium if an ad-supported account can unlock some of the most desired premium features by just putting up with a short commercial break. It's actually a brilliant move, especially now that Pandora is failing on converting the lion's share of its thinning audience into paying accounts.

Image source: Pandora.

Source: Fool.com