Clear Channel says its iHeartRadio digital radio service has surpassed 40 million registered users and 260 million downloads.
These “milestone” figures, according to the broadcaster, don’t include the millions of listeners who use the service’s live streaming radio stations; those are available without registration. Clear Channel says iHeartRadio reached this milestone quickly, second only to Instagram.
“The 40 million user mark is an indication of the type of platforms and content consumers want to access digitally,” said Brian Lakamp, President of Digital for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. He says the strides the company has made in the past year have paid off and the company plans to increase both the availability and breadth of its product in the coming months.
Chris Williams
Those improvements include features like enabling listeners to create custom stations as well as listen to on-demand, listener-created talk content. It has also launched partnerships with several consumer brands, including partnerships with Turner Broadcasting to expand its audio content on the iHeartRadio Talk feature; with Nissan to extend the availability of its in-dash auto experience; and most recently, with Nickelodeon to launch a branded, kid-friendly digital radio station.
In addition to its overall growth in registered users, the entire iHeartRadio network has surpassed 68 million digital unique visitors in October, the highest figure across its network since its launch. IHeartRadio is available through several platforms including the Web, mobile phones (iOS, Android, Windows, BlackBerry), tablets, automotive, smart TVs and gaming consoles.
In related news, Clear Channel has named Chris Williams to be senior vice president of iHeartRadio programming. He will be based in New York and will report to Executive Vice President and General Manager of National Programming Platforms Darren Davis. He will also work closely with Lakamp.
The position is newly created. A release says that Williams “will oversee all digital content programming, curation and marketing strategies for iHeartRadio …”
The release also explains that Williams will “work closely with the National Sales, Marketing and Partnership team, the Digital team and the editorial and marketing teams to coordinate digital contesting and live streaming events like the iHeartRadio Music Festival, iHeartRadio Pool Party and iHeartRadio Album Release Parties …” and he will “also identify new and strategic programming opportunities for iHeartRadio’s digital-only stations, Custom Stations, ‘Perfect For’ and iHeartRadio Talk features as well as assist with social marketing strategies.”
Williams comes from Clear Channel Cincinnati where he was VP for programming.
