Has video killed the radio star? Google is abandoning its attempts to sell ads on broadcast radio, concentrating instead on its plans to make money from television advertising and online video sharing.

Google first tried to extend its Web-based ad-placement technology to the sale of audio advertising on broadcast radio in 2006 with its acquisition of radio sales network dmarc Broadcasting, but the business has not been a success. Now, as part of a broader plan to refocus on its most profitable and popular activities, it’s pulling out of radio.

The company is looking for a buyer for Google Radio Automation, a business it set up to automate broadcast audio programming, and on May 31 will close two services designed to automate the placement of audio ads, Google Audio Ads and AdSense for Audio, it announced on its Google Traditional Media Ads blog. It expects to lay off 40 people as a result of the closure, moving others to new posts.

[Source Yahoo]