IHeartRadio


iHeartRadio is a free broadcast, podcast and streaming radio platform owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It was founded in April 2008., iHeartRadio functions as the national umbrella brand for iHeartMedia's radio network aggregating its over 850 local iHeartMedia radio stations across the United States, as well as hundreds of other stations from various other media. The service 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.
iHeartRadio launched national-branded marquee events starting with the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2011. Other major iHeartRadio events include the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio ALTer Ego, the nationwide iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, iHeartRadio Wango Tango and the iHeartRadio Music Awards. iHeartRadio regularly hosts intimate performances at the iHeartRadio Theaters in Los Angeles and New York.

History

iHeartRadio is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., which was rebranded from Clear Channel in 2014. Prior to 2008, Clear Channel Communications' various audio products were decentralized. Individual stations streamed from their own sites, 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. In 2009, iHeartRadio was made available to BlackBerry devices and the Android operating system and then Sonos 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. The launch coincided with the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival, a two-day event hosted by Ryan Seacrest at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The app was expanded to the Xbox 360 and webOS. On April 20, 2012, iHeartRadio launched on the iPad. 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". On March 1, 2013, iHeartRadio was added to the Roku digital media receiver., the app is available on more than 250 devices and platforms.
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. On July 14, 2013, iHeartRadio launched in New Zealand and Australia.
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. In 2014, the iHeartRadio Talk feature was rebranded to "Shows & Personalities" and in 2016 the feature became known simply as "Podcasts."
In September 2014, Clear Channel changed its name to iHeartMedia, to align with the success of the consumer brand iHeartRadio.
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. 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.
During The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival, iHeartMedia announced subscription based on demand services "iHeartRadio Plus" and "iHeartRadio all Access powered by Napster". 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.
In 2017, iHeartRadio expanded Plus and All Access to other platforms including desktop in January 2017 at the Consumer Electronics Show.
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 and almost doubling its usage metrics.
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. It is available across 250 device platforms including online, and via automobiles, gaming consoles, home audio, mobile smartphones and tablets, and TVs.

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 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. 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.

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

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, and co-branded the annual awards show organized through its cable channel Much as the iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards.
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.