SF Radio To Play Podcasts; Other Radio Stations to Stream Videos

On May 16th, Infinity Broadcasting’s KYCY-AM in San Francisco will drop its talk radio format and switch to broadcasting its listeners’ own podcasts. It’ll also stream those podcasts from the domain KYOURADIO.com Open Source Radio. Beginning today, listeners will be able to upload their podcasts of varying lengths for free at KYOURADIO>com, where podcasts will be chosen by the broadcaster. Infinity Broadcasting says that the pod programming will be determined by listener interests and feedback, and evaluated on a daily basis. Podcasting News, Wired.com, and The Washington Post provide further details.

“There is a profound shift underway in the way we use technology that allows everyone to have a voice. KYOURADIO harnesses that power by serving our listeners with content developed by them for them and offering a platform to share it with the rest of the world,” said Infinity Broadcasting Chairman and CEO Joel Hollander in a press release. The New York City-based Infinity chain operates 183 radio stations in most of the top 50 U.S. broadcast markets.

Meanwhile, another radio chain, Clear Channel Communications, plans to have some 200 of its 1,200 U.S. radio stations start streaming videos live online, Clear Channel Executive Vice President Evan Harrison, in charge of the company’s online division, told Reuters. Many of these Clear Channel stations will also let listeners download podcasts of the programming.

Clear Channel’s streaming video programs, titled Stripped, will feature artists such as Rob Thomas, John Legend, Gavin DeGraw and Jesse McCartney in exclusive studio sessions that will be streamed online in CD quality sound and television quality video, the company said.