iHeartMedia announced several new consumer technology integrations for iHeartRadio during CES in Las Vegas. The integrations include the Honda Dream Drive Platform, the new Bixby from Samsung, Roku devices, and Google’s Android TV and Android Auto. Additionally, iHeartRadio launched its fully redesigned iHeartRadio Family app on Amazon Fire Tablet with iOS and Android coming soon.
iHeartRadio and iHeartMedia Networks Group President Darren Davis said 2018 was a momentous year for iHeartMedia, filled with acquisitions, partnerships, integrations, and the development of an unprecedented podcasting platform. “Thanks to our ever-expanding list of platforms, iHeartRadio can be enjoyed nearly everywhere — from cars to wearables to gaming consoles and more. We’re excited to announce even more integrations this week as we look forward to another successful year of providing listeners everywhere with an exceptional music and audio listening experience.”
iHeartRadio Family now includes new features, content, parental control settings and more. Live Radio, Playlist Radio, and Podcasts are now available in the app for a total of more than 80 pieces of family-friendly content. Improved navigation now includes a scrolling mechanism that moves top to bottom instead of left to right, and now has three tabs (All, Music, and Stories) for more intuitive browsing.
At CES, Honda is demonstrating its prototype Honda Dream Drive, the automotive industry’s first integrated driver and passenger infotainment, commerce, services, and rewards dashboards within the vehicle environment. In partnership with iHeartRadio, Honda will also explore in the Dream Drive platform the integration of live broadcast radio content (AM/FM signals) simultaneously with digitally streamed audio content. Drivers will be able to access and interact with their favorite iHeartRadio content, including thousands of live stations from across the U.S., custom artist radio stations, and more than 20,000 podcasts. Experience Honda Dream Drive in the all-new 2019 Honda Passport at its CES booth in LVCC North Hall #7900.
iHeartMedia continues its partnership with Samsung and unveils a voice-enabled integration with the new Bixby, Samsung’s intelligence platform, that will enable users in the U.S to seamlessly call up specific live and iHeartRadio original radio stations.
iHeartRadio users can now use simple voice commands with Roku streaming players and Roku TVs with Roku TV Wireless Speakers connected, to listen to all their favorite live radio stations, artist stations, and podcasts. With Roku TV Wireless Speakers, users can bring music to life with powerful performance via stereo separation, vibrant high frequencies, and rich bass, plus full, clear sound. For a frictionless experience, users can give voice commands like “Play iHeartRadio Countdown on iHeartRadio” to a Roku TV Voice Remote or a Roku Touch™. Roku TV Wireless Speakers are the first speakers built by Roku and are designed exclusively for Roku TV™ to be incredibly easy to set up, simple to use, and deliver premium sound.
Android TV devices with the Google Assistant built-in allow for a more seamless listening experience. With this integration, listeners can easily pick radio stations, podcasts, and playlists from the personalized recommendations curated by iHeartRadio that appear automatically on their home screen using just their voice. Additionally, listeners can activate devices with far afield microphones by saying, “Hey Google,” or by pressing the mic button on the remote to quickly find their favorite iHeartRadio live radio station.
Listeners can easily access even more of their favorite iHeartRadio features in the car, including music playlists and podcasts, in addition to thousands of live radio stations and custom artist stations with the latest version of Android Auto. Discovering new and existing iHeartRadio content is now more intuitive — the new large album art views makes it easier to quickly select something to play, while the improved voice search experience enables drivers to just say “OK Google” to find music without taking their eyes off the road. Drivers and passengers can also view alternate iHeartRadio search results and browse through optimized imagery.
