Radio

Emmis Pacts with Apple for iTunes-Enabled Radio Station Stores

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 12, 2008 - 1:02pm.

Chicago - Emmis Interactive, the online unit of the radio broadcaster, on Monday announced a licensing agreement with Apple (NASD: AAPL) to market its custom Storefront technology to other radio stations. The technology lets radio stations build a storefront where listeners can purchase songs they hear on-air using their own existing iTunes Store accounts.

Radio One Inks Interactive Ad Deal with AllHipHop.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 12, 2008 - 1:00pm.

New York - Radio station owner Radio One's Interactive One unit on Monday announced a multi-year online advertising deal with urban site AllHipHop.com, creating an online ad network focused on African-Americans that will count combined traffic of more than 4 million monthly unique visitors and over 500 million page views. Interactive One will become the exclusive sales agent for AllHipHop.com, in addition to selling ads for Radio One's station websites, and other properties including BlackPlanet.com, Giantmag.com, MiGente.com, Newsone.com and TVOne.TV.

Last.fm to Power Lollapalooza Web Radio Station

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 12, 2008 - 12:59pm.

New York - CBS's (NYSE: CBS) Last.fm social music discovery service announced on Monday an official media partnership with the Lollapalooza music festival, and will power Lolla Radio, the festival's official Web radio service that lets users listen to songs from artists performing at the festival.

Clear Channel May Offer Pandora Personalized Web Radio

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 12, 2008 - 9:01am.

Denver - Radio broadcaster Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) is looking to add a personalized Web radio player to its station websites, and is in talks with Pandora, but no deal has yet been finalized, Billboard reports.

XM Satellite Radio Posts Wider First-Quarter Loss

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 12, 2008 - 8:33am.

Washington - As it continues to await the approval of the Federal Communications Commission to complete its multi-billion-dollar merger with Sirius (NASD: SIRI), XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) on Monday reported a higher first-quarter loss, despite a healthy gain in subscribers.

Web-based Ad Agency Spot Runner Gets $51 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 7, 2008 - 7:29am.

Los Angeles - Spot Runner, a Web-based advertising service that helps local businesses create ads and place them on TV and radio, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $51 million in new financing.

XM, Sirius Extend Merger Deadline As FCC Decision Looms

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2008 - 7:30am.

Washington - Still awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASD: SIRI) have agreed to extend their merger deadline, which otherwise would have expired on May 15.

tags: Deals | Radio | Music | Sirius | Acquisitions | FCC | XM |

XM, Sirius Delay Annual Meetings Pending Merger

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2008 - 7:13am.

Washington - With their merger possibly on the brink of completion, XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASD: SIRI) both announced on Tuesday that they would both postpone their annual meetings. The two companies continue to await a decision on the deal by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

tags: Deals | Radio | Music | Sirius | Acquisitions | FCC | DOJ | XM |

Radio Broadcaster Emmis Launches Interactive Unit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2008 - 12:30pm.

Chicago - Emmis Communications (NASD: EMMS), a broadcaster that owns several dozen U.S. radio stations, on Monday announced the launch of Emmis Interactive, a new unit that will market the company's interactive service to radio broadcasters and other local media companies. The company said Pittsburgh-based Renda Broadcasting, owner of 25 radio stations, has hired Emmis Interactive to set up their entire interactive operations.

USA Today to Publish Mediabase Radio Airplay Charts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2008 - 12:28pm.

Los Angeles - Gannett's USA Today said on Monday that it has partnered with Mediabase to provide music radio airplay charts in a new weekly feature, to run in the magazine's Life section and on its website every Tuesday. Mediabase monitors more than 1,800 radio stations in 180 U.S. and Canadian markets.

Perez Hilton in Syndicated Radio Deal with ABC Radio Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 18, 2008 - 11:05am.

Dallas - Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton this week signed a deal with ABC Radio Networks to host a twice-daily celebrity news radio feature that will be syndicated exclusively through ABC Radio Networks. The two-minute weekday feature will be broadcast by stations including WQHT (New York), KPWR (Los Angeles) and WBBM (Chicago) beginning on May 5. The deal was signed between ABC Radio and "C" Student Entertainment. Hilton also has a TV show, "What Perez Sez," on VH1.

Senator Petitions FCC to Reject XM-Sirius Merger

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 18, 2008 - 10:16am.

Washington - Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), a high-ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, on Friday wrote to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the agency to block the $5 billion merger of satellite radio firms XM (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius (NASD: SIRI), Reuters reported.

Radio One Buys Social Networking Firm Community Connect

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 11, 2008 - 6:50am.

Lanham, Md. - Looking to further broaden its focus outside of radio, Radio One, a radio broadcasting company that primarily targets African-American and urban listeners, said that it has paid $38 million to acquire New York-based Community Connect Inc. (CCI), an operator of several niche social networking websites.

Slacker Signs Music Publishers for Interactive Radio Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 8, 2008 - 12:17pm.

San Diego - Slacker, the maker of a portable music player and corresponding radio service, announced on Tuesday that it has signed agreements with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing (NYSE: SNE), Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner/Chappell Music (NYSE: WMG), which will allow users to transfer songs from its online radio service to Slacker portable players. The company said the deals were completed before it launched its Slacker Portable hit the market in November. Slacker lets users create interactive radio stations; songs from the stations are then periodically updated on the portable player. A premium version that allows users to permanently store songs is also available starting at $7.50 per month.

First HD Radios With iTunes Tagging Feature Hit Retail

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 8, 2008 - 12:08pm.

Columbia, Md. - iBiquity Digital, the developer of HD Radio technology that lets radio stations transmit a digital signal alongside their analog signals, has announced the availability of the first HD Radio receivers to support "iTunes Tagging," which allow users to tag songs they hear on the air for later purchase from Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store. The Polk Audio I-Sonic Entertainment System 2 is available from today at Apple Stores and on Apple.com, and will also be sold at Best Buy this summer. Alpine, JBL and Sony have also announced that they will incorporate the technology in upcoming radios.

XM Taps QuickPlay to Create BlackBerry Mobile Radio Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2008 - 12:21pm.

Las Vegas - XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) said on Tuesday that it partnered with mobile media firm QuickPlay Media to develop an XM Radio Mobile service for BlackBerry smartphones. The service offers 20 of XM's channels for $7.99 per month, and is compatible with BlackBerry devices with version 4.2 software or higher, including the 8800 Series, 8700 Series, Pearl and Curve.

CBS Radio to Stream Station Feeds to U.S. Last.fm Users

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2008 - 8:44am.

New York - CBS Radio (NYSE: CBS) announced on Tuesday that it will provide streaming of all of its 140 radio stations on Last.fm, the social music service it purchased for $280 million last May.

Judge Orders Backers of Clear Channel Acquisition to Pony Up

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2008 - 7:48am.

Boston - A Texas judge has ordered several banks to follow through with funding the $19.5 billion acquisition of radio network giant Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU) by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Associated Press reported. The two private equity firms filed lawsuits on Wednesday against the group of banks, claiming that they were reneging on their agreements to provide long-term financing for the deal.

Justice Dept. Approves XM-Sirius Merger; Still Needs FCC Nod

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 24, 2008 - 8:54am.

Washington - The U.S. Justice Department on Monday approved Sirius Satellite Radio's (NASD: SIRI) $5 billion purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR), a deal announced more than a year ago that has been held up by regulators who said today that the combined company is not likely to harm competition or consumers. The proposed transaction still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); shareholders of both companies approved the deal in November.

tags: Deals | Radio | Music | Sirius | Mergers | FCC | DOJ | XM |

Report: U.S. Weekly Web Radio Audience Hits 33 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2008 - 9:47am.

New York - Thirty-three million Americans age 12 or older -- or 13% of the population -- listen to an Internet radio station during the average week, up from 29 million a year ago, according to a report from Arbitron (NYSE: ARB) and Edison Media Research.