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New Ways to Hear On-Demand COVID-19 Briefs, Broadcasters Play Ball and More

And other creative ways radio broadcasters ensure their listeners are entertained

Here’s a Friday review of how broadcasters are innovating and adapting with new sources of content and new challenges in a news cycle and daily lives dominated by the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t forget to let Radio World know about your station’s strategies, and be sure to share stories about how radio is helping out our communities.

SiriusXM says daily White House Coronavirus Task Force are now available on demand via SiriusXM’s streaming services and satellite channel 121 and Pandora. The satcaster-streamer also says it plans to add state government COVID-19 briefings soon.

— Voiceover talent Harry Legg collaborated with Benztown to create this COVID-19 promo for Local Media San Diego’s XHRM. Listen below.

— This is the time of year when baseball would normally return to the stadiums and the airwaves, so many sports radio stations are getting creative to avoid dead air and keep fans tuning in.

Dickey Broadcasting‘s Ed Kennedy shared one idea on Facebook, saying that Atlanta’s WCNN(AM) aired a live-but-simulated Atlanta Braves vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game Thursday in lieu of the scheduled Opening Day broadcast. That’s an innovation combination of esports and radio that other broadcasters may turn to as the pandemic continues.

Nielsen is out with new numbers showing how radio is faring under the coronavirus “stay home stay safe” directives. Check out the chart below to get a sense of how audio is being consumed in the current environment.

Also, 42% of consumers indicated that radio has helped them deal with the outbreak, and another 46% agreed that radio helps them know what stores are open and where to shop locally.

— In New York, iHeart Media’s Z100 is teaming up with the Empire State Building to provide new entertainment for those sheltering in place. At 9 p.m. Friday March 27 through Thursday April 2, the station will broadcast and stream Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind,” which will be synced to a light show as part of the new iHeart Living Room Concert for America. A new show will then begin April 3.

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