The online service iHeartRadio of the Clear Channel Group gets a steady increase in stations. The latest participants in the streaming app are two public radio stations from Los Angeles. Starting in February, they will be the first to expand the free live offering to include university radio stations. News and entertainment from KCRW will be heard from Santa Monica College, and the University of Southern California will contribute classical sounds thanks to KUSC.
Clear Channel’s Digital Services Chair, Director Brian Lakamp, is excited about the enrichment of the program – and new audiences.
It’s no coincidence that iHeartRadio is developing into a tough competitor to Pandora. Thanks to hundreds of participating stations, the advertising effort is also borne by them. The iHeartRadio app is available for iPad and Blackberry as well as for all Android and Windows operating systems. The latest version 4 offers synchronization for the latest Ford cars; facebook connections have also been extended. Personalized Internet radio now works even in the car, because the music stream intelligently consists of music files that have already been downloaded and real live streaming, which significantly reduces the amount of data.
Installation and operation are very simple – and the variety of programs can be heard. More than 850 stations from more than 150 US cities contribute their programmes – and every user can also compile his or her own playlist using this Clear Channel Communications streaming app. In addition, they can variably define the desired format proximity to titles of a favorite artist or a favorite song. Every user can also compile his or her own ad-free music program via facebook login.
The only catch: As this app is not available for German-speaking countries for legal reasons, an American app account is required. But then the smartphone is well on its way to becoming a mobile world receiver, although quite a few iHeartRadio stations have limited their broadcasting rights to normal streaming to the American continent or US citizens.
The world’s largest radio group, Clear Channel Radio, has recently given itself a new name: Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, because the group is less and less concerned with real radio stations with transmitters and antennas. The content reaches consumers much more via all possible distribution channels such as smartphones, iPads and navigation systems, which are no longer referred to as radio.