iHeartMedia Announces New iHeartRadio Offerings Spanning Virtual Assistants, Chatbots, Wearables, Auto and
More at CES 2018
Integrations include Facebook Messenger, Roku, Bixby, General Motors, Ford, Jibo and Garmin
iHeartMedia today announced multiple new integrations for iHeartRadio, the company’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service, during
the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Listeners will have the ability to access iHeartRadio through a bot for Facebook
Messenger; Samsung’s new voice service, Bixby; Jibo, the first social robot for the home; Garmin’s new GPS running watch, the
Forerunner 645 Music; and Roku users will now have access to iHeartRadio’s full feature set. Additionally, through new automotive
updates with General Motors and Ford, iHeartMedia continues its commitment to providing quality audio entertainment in-car by
creating an easy-to-use iHeartRadio listening experience with safety in mind.
iHeartRadio recently surpassed 110 million registered users, a milestone that it has reached faster than any other digital music
service. In 2017, the company launched iHeartRadio All Access powered by Napster; became an industry leading podcast publisher; and topped 200 platform integrations, making iHeartRadio available in cars, at home, on wearables, via gaming consoles,
through virtual assistants, and nearly everywhere listeners want to tune in. iHeartRadio is available in nearly all major OEMs and
aftermarket products as well as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and more. In addition, iHeartMedia can be heard in every vehicle
reaching more than a quarter of a billion people monthly through its 850 local radio stations nationwide.
“In 2017, we built on iHeartRadio’s strong foundation of content access and discovery,” said Darren Davis, President of
iHeartRadio and iHeartMedia Networks Group. “Consumers are taking advantage of the ease and ubiquity of virtual assistants, smart
speakers, set-top boxes and other connected devices, and in doing so, they’re proving that audio is an important part of their
day-to-day life. As we look ahead in 2018, we will continue to innovate – blending the iHeartRadio experience seamlessly
into the way listeners use the influx of these new smart devices – and as always, make iHeartRadio easily available on the
products and platforms they use most.”
As the leading audio company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet, iHeartMedia is uniquely
poised to lead the way in a new era of media consumption – one where virtual assistants, smart speakers and wearables are
experiencing explosive growth. By integrating with the most innovative devices on the market, iHeartRadio enables consumers to
access the music, personalities and content they love, whenever and wherever they are.
Full details on the integrations can be found below:
iHeartRadio bot for Messenger
iHeartRadio today announced the launch of its first bot, available on Facebook Messenger. People can ask the iHeartRadio bot to
hear music based on a specific genre or geographic location, and once selected iHeartRadio will serve up the perfect live radio
station. Fans can also choose “iHeartRadio recommends” to hear a randomly chosen offering from one of iHeartRadio’s top ten most
popular stations. iHeartRadio will also add more capabilities to the bot soon; fans will be able to ask the iHeartRadio bot to
create custom radio stations based on an artist they choose and more.
iHeartRadio has a significant Facebook following, and the bot will make it easier than ever for fans of iHeartRadio to discover
new songs and artists via Messenger, a platform where they already interact with friends and other brands.
Roku
Available now, Roku users will have access to all of the iHeartRadio features they love. Through a new update available to all Roku
users, listeners can now subscribe and enjoy the benefits of iHeartRadio All Access including instant song playback, unlimited
skips, saving and replaying songs from live radio, as well as on demand playlist playback and access to millions of artists and
podcasts right from their TV.
Bixby from Samsung and Virtual Voice Assistants
iHeartRadio is now integrated with the Bixby service. Users can ask Bixby to play specific Live and iHeartRadio Original radio
stations, create a Custom Artist station, and even set a sleep timer for Bixby to stop playing iHeartRadio after a set amount of
time. Additionally, users can ask Bixby to like the song that is playing or skip a song. Bixby is currently available on Samsung
Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Visit the Samsung Open IOT Zone at CES to experience iHeartRadio on the Family Hub: LVCC
Central Hall, Booth #15006.
The addition of Bixby to iHeartRadio’s platform lineup marks the service’s availability on all major voice-activated virtual
assistants including Alexa, Cortana and Google Assistant. Recently, iHeartRadio launched a new lineup of nearly a dozen Flash
Briefings for Amazon Alexa equipped devices featuring iHeartRadio’s most popular shows and personalities including On Air With
Ryan Seacrest, The Brokaw Report, The Rush Minute, several NBC New Radio category briefings and more. In 2018,
iHeartRadio also will continue to develop original skills for virtual assistants that will allow listeners to engage with
iHeartRadio via voice and allow brand partners the opportunity to integrate with iHeartRadio in innovative new ways. Previously
released skills included iHeartRadio Music Awards Voting on Google Home, iHeartRadio Music Trivia, and seasonal skills like the popular
iHeartRadio “Talk to Santa Claus” skill that debuted this December for Amazon Alexa users.
Jibo
Over the holiday, iHeartRadio partnered with Jibo, the first social robot for the home, to launch Jibo Music, powered by iHeartRadio. When activated by voice commands or through the touch screen, Jibo
can stream an iHeartRadio Original station from the user’s preferred music genre, or news and talk content from NPR and NBC News
Radio. The robot will dance when Jibo Music launches or when a new song begins playing, giving listeners a fun and unique music
experience. Experience the integration during CES at the Jibo Exhibit: LVCC South Hall 3, Booth #30332.
Garmin ® Forerunner 645 Music
iHeartRadio will be available on the new Garmin Forerunner ® 645 Music, a GPS running watch with integrated music capabilities. As
the first music partner available, iHeartRadio All Access users will be able to download playlists directly to the watch for
offline listening. Additional details on the Forerunner 645 Music can be found at www.garmin.com. Experience the integration during CES at the Garmin Exhibit: LVCC South Hall 3, Booth
#30317.
General Motors
iHeartRadio is now instantly available to more than a million of 4G-LTE connected Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicle owners
directly on their digital dashboard. iHeartRadio is a key music partner and the only pre-set music app GM has rolled-out via an
over-the-air software update to the Shop and Collection in-vehicle platform. The iHeartRadio app will continue to be pre-installed
on new GM vehicles throughout 2018.
Ford
Ford will be the first OEM to fully integrate with iHeartRadio’s flagship mobile app, making all features available in car with
safety in mind. This major upgrade to the Ford SYNC AppLink integration will bring the on-demand music functionality of iHeartRadio All Access into Ford vehicles allowing drivers to enjoy instant music replay, the ability to save
songs from live radio and more. Users will also enjoy thousands of live radio stations from across the country, and the ability to
access custom artist stations and playlists.
Visit the FordDev Exhibit at the Tech West Location in the Sands Expo Hall on Tuesday, January 9 from 2-6 p.m. for a live
demo of the iHeartRadio integration and Thursday, January 11 in the LVCC Grand Lobby Ford exhibit from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for a live
DJ set by iHeartRadio.
CES attendees who would like to experience other iHeartRadio integrations can also visit the following booths: Google Home
exhibit at the LVCC Central Plaza, Outside Booth #CP-21; Qualcomm Auto Exhibit at the LVCC North Hall, Booth #5616; and the Jaguar
Land Rover mySPIN integration in the Bosch exhibit at the LVCC Central Hall, Booth #14028.
# # #
About iHeartMedia
With over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S. and over 129 million social followers, iHeartMedia has the largest
national reach of any radio or television outlet in America. As the leader in multiplatform connections, it also serves over 150
local markets through 858 owned radio stations, and the company’s radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, HD digital
radio, satellite radio, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company’s radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile app, in enhanced auto
dashes, on tablets, wearables and smartphones, and on gaming consoles.
iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s digital radio platform, is the fastest growing digital audio service in the U.S. and offers users
thousands of live radio stations, personalized custom artist stations created by just one song or seed artist and the top podcasts
and personalities. With over 1.7 billion downloads, iHeartRadio reached 110 million registered users faster than any other radio or
digital music service.
iHeartMedia’s platforms include radio broadcasting, online, mobile, digital and social media, podcasts, personalities and
influencers, live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and independent media representation. iHeartMedia is a
division of iHeartMedia, Inc. (PINK: IHRT). Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
iHeartMedia
Angel Aristone, 646-343-2410
angelaristone@iheartmedia.com
or
Jenn Powers, 646-343-2424
jennpowers@iheartmedia.com
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