Radioplayer

Radioplayer
Motto UK radio in one place
Formation 28 July 2010 (2010-07-28)
Purpose A simple and accessible way to listen to radio via connected devices
Headquarters 55 New Oxford Street, London
Managing Director
 Michael Hill
Staff
2
Website www.radioplayer.co.uk

Radioplayer is a radio technology platform, owned by UK radio broadcasters and operated under licence in some other countries. It operates an internet radio web tuner, a set of mobile phone apps, an in-car adaptor, and a growing range of integrations with other connected devices and platforms.

Radioplayer is operated by UK Radioplayer Ltd which is a not-for-profit organisation owned by UK radio broadcasters. Initial shareholders were the BBC, Global Radio, GMG Radio, Absolute Radio and RadioCentre. After consolidation in the radio market, current shareholders are the BBC, Global Radio, Bauer Media Group and RadioCentre.

History

Launched in the UK on 31 March 2011,[1] Radioplayer set out to offer a simple and accessible way to listen to radio via the internet. It contained 157 stations at launch.

Initially working internally at the BBC for Tim Davie, then Director of BBC Audio & Music, Michael Hill led the project since March 2009,[2] and was made Managing Director of UK Radioplayer Ltd on 28 July 2010.

At launch, Radioplayer was a simple and straightforward Flash-based radio player, linked-to by radio stations on their own website. The player included searching and bookmarking across all of UK radio station content.

On 5 October 2012, Radioplayer launched a mobile app [3] on iOS phones with an Android version following shortly afterwards. The apps are unavailable for download outside the United Kingdom. This was followed by a tablet app on 25 September 2013.[4]

The apps also support Android Wear and Android Auto,[5] Apple Watch[6] and Apple CarPlay.[7] They are also compatible with Chromecast and Airplay.

In September 2016, Radioplayer announced it had been chosen by Amazon to integrate with their new voice-controlled 'Echo' device, ahead of its UK launch.. In July 2017, Radioplayer integrated with the Sonos multi-room speaker platform.

UK Radioplayer currently contains 480 UK stations.

Radioplayer Car

Radioplayer Car was announced in September 2014 as a hybrid radio receiver that switches between FM, DAB and streaming to find the strongest signal.[8] Speaking in Oslo in June 2015, Michael Hill said that he hoped to launch the product in the UK and Norway during the summer.

In February 2017, Radioplayer Car was launched.[9] It was marketed as the world’s first voice-controlled hybrid radio adaptor for car stereos.

A small box, fitted behind the dashboard, links to the auxiliary input on an existing car radio. It connects wirelessly to the driver’s smartphone and uses a free app enabling the driver to control the multiplatform radio safely, navigating between stations that have been marked as ‘favourites’ by the user. The adaptor also enables drivers to bring their own smartphone music collections using Bluetooth, take hands-free calls, listen to inbound text messages and receive instant audio travel news, customised by GPS to their location and direction of travel.

The hardware is manufactured under licence by car audio interfaces supplier Connects2. Hyde Park Corner is promoted as the "preferred" installer of the audio equipment.

International

Through a separate company called Radioplayer Worldwide, Radioplayer technology is licensed to a number of different territories. The Irish Radioplayer was launched in April 2015,[10] and an announcement was also made on March 24 that Radioplayer would be coming to Austria.[11] Radioplayer is also being used in Norway, Belgium and Germany. On September 28, 2016, Radioplayer announced it would launch in Canada.[12] There will also be a Radioplayer Peru in 2017.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/radioplayer-launches-in-the-uk/045331
  2. ↑ http://www.radiocentre.org/files/michael_hill_appointed_as_managing_director_of_radioplayer.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.thedrum.com/news/2012/10/05/radioplayer-launches-mobile-app
  4. ↑ https://www.radioplayer.co.uk/sites/default/files/6_tablet_app_launch_-_final.pdf
  5. ↑ https://media.info/radio/news/radioplayer-now-works-with-android-auto
  6. ↑ http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/radioplayer-set-to-appear-on-apple-watch/061614
  7. ↑ http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/03/16/bbc-bauer-and-global-backed-radioplayer-app-launch-apple-carplay
  8. ↑ "Radioplayer's Michael Hill unveils their in-car product". Next Radio. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  9. ↑ https://media.info/radio/news/worlds-first-voice-controlled-hybrid-radio-for-cars
  10. ↑ https://media.info/radio/news/irish-radioplayer-app-launches
  11. ↑ https://media.info/radio/news/radioplayer-to-launch-in-austria
  12. ↑ "Canada’s Premier Radio Broadcasters Unite to Bring Listeners Top-Rated Digital Radio Streaming Service, Radioplayer - Radioplayer Canada". 2016-09-28. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
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