Internet radio service Pandora will lift its 40-hour a month cap on free mobile listening, effective Sept. 1, 2013. The company previously instated and lifted a cap on mobile listening in September 2011, according to TechCrunch.com.
Pandora CFO Mike Herring explained the decision to lift the cap, saying the company will use skip limits and other “surgical techniques” to control costs and manage user experience. He also stated that improvements in business would allow Pandora to make more money off of 40-plus hours of listening.
Additionally, the company is removing the mobile cap because it contributed to a 10 percent decrease in useage, and they do not expect a corresponding jump in usage once the cap is removed, due to the aforementioned limits in place. “We don’t expect a big spike in hours. We do expect the hours to go up,” said Herring.
Although Pandora continues to pull in major earnings, the company faces competition with Apple’s launch of iTunes radio in September.
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