CBS Radio has redesigned its Radio.com app. According to the company, the free app sports a new look and logo, improved navigation and higher quality streaming, although it retains the rather dated name.
“We are catering to the distinctive tastes of mobile-first audiences, giving them control over when and where they engage with our content,” CBS Radio Executive Vice President of Digital J.D. Crowley said in the announcement.
Like competitor iHeartRadio, the app allows users to listen to a live stream of their favorite local radio stations or search for other CBS Radio stations by location or genre. Also, local stations and followed podcasts — there are more than 350 to choose from — will populate the top of the homepage, alongside customized content recommendations. The app’s new “auto play” feature launches the last played station upon re-opening the app.
In the app, station pages are customized to reflect branding, on-air personalities, shows, on-demand audio, podcasts and schedules. Listeners are also able to give feedback on songs by tapping on a thumbs up/thumbs down button, à la Pandora.
Additionally, the app also features customizable lists of stations and podcasts, which users can subscribe to and have new podcast episodes automatically download when connected to Wi-Fi.
Radio.com is also now compatible with Apple TV, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Ads in the app are now targeted to individual users and/or specific streams, formats or stations through dynamic advertising.
A division of CBS Corporation, CBS Radio distributes its programming via AM, FM and HD Radio stations, Radio.com and CBS Local Digital Media apps. The division is also on track to separate from its parent company and merge with Entercom; the deal is projected to close in Q4 2017, pending Justice Department approval.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that CarPlay is a Google product.
