Radioplayer goes live

The BBC-backed online radio station aggregator Radioplayer, which features hundreds of stations including hospital and student radio stations, was unveiled at a launch event in London today.

Listeners can now access live streaming and on-demand content from one place for the first time.

The player is embedded onto each radio station’s own website, and appears as a pop-up player – all with the same format and easy-to-use navigation. It also includes ‘plug-in’ space, which allows stations to feature their own video or flash content – and an opportunity for sponsorship or ads.

The streaming service is currently only available online but Michael Hill, the managing director of Radioplayer, said he hopes to launch mobile applications for smartphones and tablets in the near future.

All of the BBC’s local and national stations, as well as around 140 commercial broadcasters, are available on the service from launch. Stations owned by Bauer Media and UTV will join the service later this week, taking the total number of stations available to 228.

Within a year, each of the 400 Ofcom-licensed radio stations in the UK will be on Radioplayer, according to Hill. He also confirmed that the service will be available on YouView – the connected TV service, which is set to launch early next year.

Tim Davie, the BBC director of audio and music, said the venture is a “breakthrough” for the radio industry. Davie said Radioplayer represents “good, clever thinking for radio, which will allow the industry to compete hard but benefit together”.

“Live listening is incredibly buoyant and has held up in a gravity-defying way – but that cannot lead to any complacency. The industry could really benefit from this kind of innovation. Traditional media has got to cope in a land of infinite choice, and this gets you really excited in radio,” he said.

Davie added that Radioplayer allows stations to compete “just as vigorously” online as they do through traditional offline listening. He said: “There will be winners and losers in Radioplayer, depending on how innovative individual companies are.”

Online radio currently attracts 4.7 million listeners a week (3.1% of all listening) according to last year’s RAJAR figures. Radioplayer is expected to attract more than 3 million listeners in the first week.

Hill said there is a possibility of the Radioplayer technology being licensed globally in the future.

The service is due to be promoted on and off air from today.