Internet audio provider Slacker announced a series of deals coinciding with the recent BCS Championship game and this week’s CES show.
ESPN and Slacker have agreement to begin providing live streaming of ESPN Audio programming and sporting events to Slacker Radio subscribers. ESPN Audio includes ESPN Radio along with live sports events and other special programming.
The deal also included live ESPN content featured on Slacker’s website, as well as future options for mobile experiences. The live streaming venture debuted Monday night with a live Web-streaming of the BCS Championship title game between LSU and Alabama.
Jonathan Sasse, senior vice president of marketing at Slacker, said in a press release that many listeners had requested live sports as a content option. He called the feature an example of how Slacker “is combining the best elements of traditional radio with our listeners’ demand for personalization of music, news, sports and more.”
Public-radio program/content provider American Public Media has inked a distribution deal with Slacker. Highlighted in the announcement were APM business show “Marketplace” and “The Current” rock music program. The Slacker channel for “The Current” will have additional material not available to on-air listeners.
To go with sports and music, Slacker announced that The Weather Channel will be available to Slacker listeners. According to the announcement besides a dedicated channel, weather news can be made available on other Slacker channels.
The three new features are available at all levels of Slacker service. Slacker provides a tiered service, starting with a free service and graduating to a paid “premium” service. It is available via Internet and optimized apps for major smartphone platforms.
