Media Beat: November 27, 2019

By David Farrell

Radioplayer Canada hits a high note with 1M app downloads

The app that aggregates the majority of Canada’s radio broadcasters has proven itself to be a hit with listeners.

This week Radioplayer Canada announced that more than a million downloads have been registered through the Google and Apple online stores. The app launched in March of 2017 with 400 radio stations signed to the consortium.

Since then, the number of broadcasters signed on has swelled to 500, counting pretty much the entire sweep of radio stations nationwide excepting Bell Media properties, which are supported on their own iHeartRadio app.

Apart from its chief design offering mobility of listening to users, the app’s designers have been successful in bringing integration to a growing number of smart devices, including the Sonos  and BOSE home sound systems, Amazon Echo and Fire TV, Google’s Chromecast and Apple Car Play.

Canadians now spend 3.7 million hours per month listening to the more than 500 Canadian radio stations available on Radioplayer, and time spent listening has grown five percent in the past six months, according to the consortium powering the app.

“Two and a half years ago the majority of Canadian radio broadcasters joined together to collaborate on technology to make radio listening easy for the audience - wherever, whenever, and however they want,” said Julie Adam, Board Chair of Radioplayer Canada and Sr. VP, Rogers Radio.

Radioplayer Canada is a partnership between CBC/Radio-Canada and the stations of Bayshore Broadcasting, Blackburn Radio, Blackgold Radio, Byrnes Communications, CAB-K Broadcasting, Central Ontario Broadcasting, Clear Sky Radio, Cogeco Media, Corus Radio, Durham Radio, Golden West Broadcasting, Harvard Broadcasting, Stingray, Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, Rogers Media, Rawlco Radio, RNC Media, Saskatoon Media Group, Vista Radio, and Westman Communications Group, as well as the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC).