Google plans to start selling radio advertisements through its AdWords programme, the company said as it unveiled the acquisition of dMarc Broadcasting for up to $1.2bn in cash. 

DMarc has created an advertising programme that promises to slash the costs for radio ads by letting advertisers directly connect to radio stations. This allows for a simplified sales process, and easier delivery and reporting of radio advertising.

"Google is committed to exploring new ways to extend targeted, measurable advertising to other forms of media," said Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president for advertising sales.

The search firm will pay an up-front acquisition fee of $102m and additional payments of up to $1.136bn based on preset targets such as product integration, net revenue and advertising inventory.

Google has been experimenting with programmes that could turn it into an intermediary for the advertising sector. The company has launched trials with several offline media, placing classified ads in newspapers and print advertising in trade publications.