ABC Radio Networks and Radiolicious have signed an exclusive sales and marketing agreement that will provide stations the ability to link their music and advertising with smart phone users. The Radiolicious platform offers an advanced digital technology and allows consumers to access their favorite radio station from their smart phone wherever they are across the country. The free application, currently available for the Apple iPhone and iTouch, also lets the user interact with the station and advertisers through texting or direct e-mail by merely tapping a button on their phone. ABC Radio Networks will support affiliation efforts through targeted outreach to radio stations and will sell station inventory for the application that will be utilized on the station’s Radiolicious link and on-air.
The Radiolicious application launched in 2008 and has proven to be extremely popular with iPhone and iTouch users. More than 100,000 users have downloaded the application to date with an average of more than 1,000 new downloads per week. There are currently more than 600 radio stations already utilizing the service to make themselves available to radio audiences on the go. The application will be soon be available to Blackberry users.
“Partnering with the team at ABC Radio Networks gives us instant talent and reach for ramping up our affiliation and sales efforts as we continue to grow,” said TJ Lambert, EVP and COO for Radiolicious. “Making the right content available on the right devices is critical for radio in staying relevant with the younger audience. Our goal is to provide the most compelling content from around the world through our player.”
Banner ad space on the application will be shared between the network and local stations, which will afford local sales managers the opportunity to generate local advertising dollars. The ads are also geo-target sensitive and can offer location-specific advertiser options based on where the user is currently accessing a station.
