Radioplayer launch unites UK radio stations online
A website designed to bring together all of the UK’s radio stations under one roof has launched today, Radioplayer.
Incorporating all of the BBC’s radio output and the majority of the country’s commercial channels the site claims to “turn your computer into a radio.”
Each station is accessible via a straightforward menu interface from which 150 separate stations can be played, a figure which is set to rise to 300 once local and community radio stations sign up for the service in the coming weeks.
Backers believe the site will become the default portal for the majority of online radio listeners with each participating radio station defaulting to the Radioplayer streams on their own websites.
This is helped by the flexibility of the player which can be re-skinned to accommodate each station’s individual branding, inclusion of adverts and social sharing options.
Enhanced functionality will include a detailed search option which will allow listeners to hunt for specific programmes, presenters or topics alongside an archive of older shows.
Listeners will also be able to personalise the service to reflect their own personal listening habits. Over the next year the service will also branch out onto mobile devices, internet connected games consoles and set top boxes.
Andrew Harrison, radioplayer’s chief executive, said: “The radio industry’s ambition for Radioplayer is to increase the amount of time people are listening to radio overall, as well as boosting radio’s footprint online.”