San Antonio, Tex.—Clear Channel Radio today announced a plan to stream up to 100 of its radio stations to cellular phones to be implemented during the next twelve months.
Starting with its most popular station, WHTZ-FM Z100 in New York, the company today, began allowing listeners to purchase cellular capability for a given radio station via the station’s website.Users will be able to stream music from Z100 to their cellular phone as well as download a list of the last ten songs played. They can send music requests to the station and receive notification 15 minutes before the request is played. They also receive access to real time traffic data updated every two minutes and to podcasts of celebrity interviews.
“Z100 is the first one we’ve launched, but it’s the start of an initiative,” said Jeff Littlejohn, Clear Channel executive VP for distribution development. “We will turn on by the end of the year, 20 to 30 of these applications, each one branded to a local radio station. Our goal is to have 100 stations running the same application. It’s a great way for us to keep in contact with our listeners and increase our distribution beyond AM and FM,” he added.
The service is available now to Cingular users, but Clear Channel hopes to offer it through Verizon and Sprint by the end of the year. Users pay $3.98 per month for the service, which is billed to their Cingular wireless phone account.
FM Z100 attracts 2.5 million listeners each week and its website receives 4 million hits every month, said Clear Channel.
