iHeartRadio

iHeartRadio is an American free broadcast, podcast and streaming radio platform owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.[2] It was founded in April 2008. As of 2019, iHeartRadio functions as the national umbrella brand for iHeartMedia's radio network, the largest radio broadcaster in the United States. Its main competitors are Radio.com and TuneIn.[3]

Not to be confused with Heart (radio network).
iHeartRadio
Type
Country
  • United States
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • Canada
  • Mexico
Headquarters32 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10013 [1]
OwneriHeartMedia, Inc.
Key people
Bob Pittman
(Chairman/CEO, iHeartMedia, Inc.)
Launch date
August 1, 2008 (2008-08-01)
Former names
iheartmusic.com
Affiliation(s)
Official website

They regularly host performances at the iHeartRadio Theaters in Los Angeles and New York.[4][5]

History

iHeartRadio is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., which was rebranded from Clear Channel in 2014.[6] Prior to 2008, Clear Channel Communications' various audio products were decentralized. Individual stations streamed from their own sites (or in many cases, did not due to voluminous syndication and local advertising clearance issues), and the Format Lab website provided feeds of between 40 and 80 networks that were used primarily on Clear Channel's HD Radio subchannels, many of which transitioned to iHeartRadio unchanged. In April 2008, Clear Channel launched the iHeartMusic website, featuring entertainment news, national news, music content including albums, singles on demand, music videos, and access to over 750 Clear Channel radio stations online.

On October 7, 2008, Clear Channel Radio launched the first version of iHeartRadio to the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch through the App Store. Twelve radio stations in 8 markets were included in this first release.[7][8] In 2009, iHeartRadio was made available to BlackBerry devices and the Android operating system[9][10][11] and then Sonos[12] in 2010. September 2011 marked the official launch of the free, all-in-one iHeartRadio service featuring thousands of live radio stations and custom artist stations.[13] The launch coincided with the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival, a two-day event hosted by Ryan Seacrest at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.[14]

The app was expanded to the Xbox 360[15] and webOS.[16] On April 20, 2012, iHeartRadio launched on the iPad.[17] On June 8, 2012, iHeartRadio concluded a deal to power Yahoo! Music's Radio service, previously powered by CBS Radio.

In mid-October 2012, iHeartRadio launched online audio news, weather and traffic streams for Tampa, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, and 15 other metropolitan cities, branded as "24/7 News".[18] On March 1, 2013, iHeartRadio was added to the Roku digital media receiver.[19] As of 2019, the app is available on more than 250 devices and platforms.[20]

On July 2013, iHeartRadio began adding stations from outside the United States like CHUM-FM and CFBT-FM in Canada and Virgin Radio Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.[21] On July 14, 2013, iHeartRadio launched in New Zealand and Australia.[22]

On July 24, 2013, iHeartRadio launched a new talk radio feature: iHeartRadio Talk. It featured original on demand programming from celebrities like Ryan Seacrest and allowed users to upload their own content through Spreaker.[23] In 2014, the iHeartRadio Talk feature was rebranded to "Shows & Personalities" and in 2016 the feature became known simply as "Podcasts."

On November 10, 2015, iHeartRadio launched a spin-off app known as iHeartRadio Family—a curated experience targeting children. It features a simplified interface and a selection of age-appropriate stations (such as Radio Disney, and stations curated by artists and personalities popular among the demographic). Build-A-Bear Workshop served as a launch sponsor for the app, which included the addition of a "Build-a-Bear Workshop Radio" channel in the app.[24][25]

During The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival, iHeartMedia announced subscription based on demand services "iHeartRadio Plus" and "iHeartRadio all Access powered by Napster".[26] On December 1, 2016, iHeartMedia launched the services in beta on iOS and Android to the American users.

iHeartRadio launched in Canada on October 7, 2016 in association with Bell Media.[27]

In 2017, iHeartRadio expanded Plus and All Access to other platforms including desktop[28][29][30] in January 2017 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

In September 2018, iHeartMedia announced it would acquire Stuff Media, LLC, the leading U.S. for-profit publisher of entertaining and informative podcast content, which included the HowStuffWorks podcasting business division as well as its slate of premium podcast content for $55 million. This acquisition enabled iHeartMedia to leverage Stuff Media's original content, programming and experienced podcasting management team to further expand its podcasting platform, increasing its position as the solid No. 1 commercial podcast publisher globally (Podtrac , 2019) and almost doubling its usage metrics.[31]

Today as the leading podcast publisher in the U.S., iHeartRadio carries more than 250,000 podcasts – from its own podcasts to other major podcast publishers – and the iHeartPodcast Network hosts more than 750 iHeartRadio Original shows including "The Ron Burgundy Podcast", "Stuff You Should Know", "Disgraceland" and Chelsea Handler's "Life Will Be the Death of Me".

The service launched in Mexico on October 29, 2018, in association with Grupo ACIR.

On April 23, 2020, the iHeartRadio app was launched in association with Uno Radio Group, which owns the NotiUno, Salsoul, Fidelity and Hot 102 brands in Puerto Rico.

Availability and supported devices

iHeartRadio is available in Australia, Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and New Zealand.[32] It is available across 250 device platforms including online, and via automobiles, gaming consoles, home audio, mobile smartphones and tablets, TVs, and WatchOS.[33]

Functionality and rating system

Listeners can hear live radio stations, personalized music stations, create playlists, listen to podcasts and more. The iHeartRadio player has a Like/Dislike (Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down) rating tool used on songs playing on live and customized radio stations. "Liking" or "disliking" songs for all live stations provides feedback to the station being played. "Liking" a song on customized stations will have it and songs like it played more often. "Disliking" a song on customized stations means that song will not be played again.[34] This data is used to personalize users’ "My Favorites Radio" station. As My Favorites Radio learns a user's music taste over time, it adds various bonus tracks into the mix. Songs can easily be removed from the station.

United States

The New York Times described iHeartRadio as the largest radio broadcaster in the United States.[3] They aggregate over 850 local iHeartMedia radio stations across the United States, as well as hundreds of other stations from various other media.[35] It includes more than 250,000 podcasts, offers a Music recommender system and on-demand functionality, and allows listeners to save and replay songs from live broadcasts in digital playlists. The on-demand features require a subscription fee. iHeartRadio is available across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices including smart speakers, digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables, smartphones, virtual assistants, TVs and gaming consoles.

International

Australia & New Zealand

Before 2014 iHeartRadio operated Australian Radio Network as joint venture with APN News and Media and now as licensed Australian version only solely by HT&E. New Zealand assets are now licensed by New Zealand Media and Entertainment.

Canada
See also: Bell Media Radio

On January 6, 2016, iHeartMedia announced that the iHeartRadio service would expand into Canada as part of a licensing deal with Bell Media. The company described the Canadian version of the service as being a "franchised" operation; Bell handles Canadian music licensing, marketing, and distribution of the service, and provides content from its properties. Bell also gained rights to organize Canadian versions of the company's branded events, such as the Jingle Ball,[36] and co-branded the annual awards show organized through its cable channel Much as the iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards.[37][30][38][39]

The service went live in Canada on October 7, 2016 and on December 4, 2017, additional features were added to the service, including podcasts, additional stations, and a deal with Evanov Radio Group to add its stations to the service.[40][41]

iHeartRadio Theater

The iHeartRadio Theater located in New York[42] at 32 Avenue of the Americas is a ground floor 250-seat theater which formerly was called the P.C. Richard & Son Theater;[43] PC Richard sponsors them.[44]

There is also an iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles;[5] it opened under that name in 2013.[45]

Financials

The company, which as of early 2020 had 12,500 employees, fired "dozens" (estimated by one newspaper as "hundreds ... across its more than 850 radio stations"[46]) at a time when the company, bankrupt,[47] was viewed as being considered for purchase by Liberty Media.[48] iHeart described these layoffs as being technology-driven.[49]


Competition

Pandora ("which operates only in the United States"[50]) also had major losses.

See also

References
  1. "iHeartRadio - Real & Custom Radio Stations". iHeartRadio official website. iHeartMedia, Inc. San Antonio, TX. 2013. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013. Hear all your favorite music and radio, free. Listen online or download the iHeartRadio. App.
  2. "Company Overview of iHeartMedia and Entertainment, Inc". Business Week (Bloomberg LP). 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014. On September 16, 2014, Clear Channel Broadcasting, Inc. changed its name to iHeartMedia and Entertainment, Inc.
  3. Ben Sisario; Michael J. de la Merced (April 3, 2019). "The Radio Giant iHeartMedia Prepares for Possible I.P.O." The New York Times.
  4. "Review: John Mellencamp triumphs at iHeartRadio Theater in New York (Includes first-hand account)". April 28, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. John Salangsang (April 25, 2015). "A Rapid Rise by Shawn Mendes, in Tune With Social Media". The New York Times.
  6. Sisario, Ben (September 16, 2014). "Clear Channel Renames Itself iHeartMedia in Nod to Digital". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  7. "No AM/FM receiver required: Clear Channel brings top radio stations to Apple iPhone, iPod touch". Macdailynews.com. October 13, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  8. iHeartRadio iPhone App reaches 1 million downloads. "iHeartRadio iPhone App reaches 1 million downloads". Orbitcast. Archived from the original on April 28, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  9. "IHeartRadio, Launches Streaming Radio Application!". CrackBerry.com. March 16, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  10. Wauters, Robin (December 24, 2009). "Clear Channel Radio Debuts Android Version of iheartradio App". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  11. "MediaPost Publications - Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines". December 29, 2011. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  12. Taub, Eric A. (May 20, 2010). "An Upgrade for Sonos". New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  13. "Clear Channel's iHeartRadio takes on Pandora". USATODAY.COM. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. "iHeartRadio: Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Kenny Chesney Close Out Music Festival (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  15. "iHeartRadio on Xbox 360". www.xbox.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  16. Palm (July 3, 2011). "iHeartRadio palm webOS application". Archived from the original on October 1, 2013.
  17. "Clear Channel Radio Releases iheartradio App For iPad On The App Store". Clear Channel Radio. April 20, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013.
  18. IHeartRadio Adds Local News Streams For 20 Cities - RadioInsight.com (released October 18, 2012)
  19. Roku Channel Store: iHeartRadio Retrieved March 1, 2013
  20. "iHeartRadio - iHeartRadio News & Entertainment". iHeartRadio. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  21. "IHeartRadio Launches International Suite". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  22. "iHeartRadio Launches in New Zealand". scoop.co.nz. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  23. "Clear Channel Launches iHeartRadio Talk, Letting Everyone From Jimmy Kimmel To Joe Six Pack Be Heard".
  24. "iHeartMedia Launches iHeartRadio Family Music Streaming App". Adweek. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  25. Ifeanyi, KC (November 10, 2015). "The iHeartRadio Family App Is Here, With Help From 30 Kids And A "Bug Bash"". Fast Company. Fast Company.
  26. "iHeartRadio All Access". iHeartRadio. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  27. "Bell Media officially launches iHeartRadio". Media in Canada. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  28. "iHeart officially rolls out its Spotify rival". CNET. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  29. McIntyre, Hugh. "iHeartRadio Launches On-Demand Streaming Apps To Compete With Spotify". Forbes. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  30. "Rob Farina Talks 1M Apps, Radio & iHeartRadio". FYIMusicNews. May 10, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  31. "iHeartMedia Buys Stuff Media for $55 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  32. "Is iHeartRadio available in my country?". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  33. "Get the iHeartRadio App". iHeartRadio. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  34. "Editing your thumbs on iHeartRadio.com". Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  35. with companies such as Cumulus Media, Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group also using this service
  36. "Jingle Ball North Comes To Toronto On December 9th". All Access. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  37. "iHeartRadio Beach Ball bounces into PNE". Vancouver Sun. August 31, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  38. "iHeartRadio joins Canada's streaming market through partnership with Bell". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  39. Vlessing, Etan. "Nick Jonas to Perform at iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  40. "iHeart boosts app in Canada with 10x the stations". Cartt.ca. Retrieved December 8, 2017.(subscription required)
  41. "iHeartRadio Canada Releases Revamped, Enhanced App". All Access. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  42. "Zayn Starts Off His Solo Career With a No. 1 Album". The New York Times. April 4, 2016.
  43. "Nosy Neighbor: P.C. Richard & Son Theater". Tribeca Citizen. November 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  44. "iHeartRadio Theater". QRO Magazine. December 4, 2009. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  45. "Katy Perry to open Clear Channel's iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles". The Los Angeles Times. October 3, 2013. at Burbank Studios in the former home of "The Tonight Show"
  46. Chris Foran (January 14, 2020). "V100's Reggie Brown, Madison sports-talk host Mike Lucas among the hundreds laid off at iHeartMedia stations nationwide". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Industry reports estimate the cuts could total more than 1,000 jobs more to come this week
  47. "IHeartMedia, largest U.S. radio station operator, files for bankruptcy to cut huge debt load". The Los Angeles Times. March 15, 2018.
  48. James Leggate (January 15, 2020). "iHeartRadio owner lays off dozens including popular hosts".
  49. Paul Resnikoff (January 15, 2020). "iHeartRadio Just Replaced Hundreds of Human Workers With 'Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI)".
  50. "What happened to Pandora?". CNN. March 29, 2018.
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