TuneIn explained

TuneIn
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TuneIn is a global audio streaming service providing news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users.[1]

TuneIn is operated by the company TuneIn Inc. based in San Francisco, California. The company was founded by Bill Moore on January 1st 2002 as RadioTime in Dallas, Texas. Users can listen through the TuneIn website using a mobile app, smart speaker, or any other supported device., TuneIn became available on more than 55 vehicle models.[2] In 2013, the company raised more than USD 47 million in venture funding from Institutional Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, GV, General Catalyst Partners, and Icon Ventures.[3]

In November 2020, TuneIn appointed Richard Stern as Chief Executive Officer and Rob Deichert as Chief Revenue Officer, with a new investment led by Innovation Endeavors.[4]

Functions

In August 2015, TuneIn launched a premium service called "TuneIn Premium" that covers audiobooks, sports content from MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, news content from MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and more.[5] Initially, subscribers were able to record any content played through the TuneIn service,[6] but the feature was first discontinued in the UK in early 2017, with a global discontinuation following on September 14, 2020, citing legal issues.[7] However, the feature remains accessible through older versions of the TuneIn Pro app.

In 2017, the company raised $50 million and was valued at $500 million.[8]

In March 2018, TuneIn launched another premium live audio subscription called "TuneIn Live," which offers play-by-play calls from thousands of live sporting events, plus access to premium news stations, talk shows, and other content. The company launched the subscription-based radio service exclusively for Alexa-enabled speakers, allowing subscribers to prompt Alexa to stream news programs as well as play-by-play broadcasts of MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL games.[9] [10] TuneIn Live marked the first time TuneIn premium content was available over a voice platform.[11] In October 2018, the company launched a commercial-free news offering through TuneIn Premium, which included news programs from CNBC, Fox News Talk, and MSNBC, as well as news podcasts from Progressive Voices, The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal.

From 2019, the TuneIn website and apps allowed users to listen to more than 100,000 global radio stations including AM, FM, HD, LP, digital, and internet stations, and podcasts.[12] TuneIn's directory lists various sports, news, talk, and music broadcasts from around the world. TuneIn's website is available in 22 languages, each with its own content tailored for the specific language or region. TuneIn also offers 5.7 million on-demand programs.[13]

Content

The platform has deals with various broadcasters of sports, news, talk, and music worldwide such as ESPN Radio,[14] NPR,[15] Public Radio Exchange (PRX), CBC / Radio-Canada, C-SPAN Radio, All India Radio, Emmis Communications,[16] Hearst Radio, iHeartMedia, Urban One, Mvyradio, Wu-Tang Radio (Wu World Radio),[17] ABC Radio and Regional Content (Australia), Bonneville International,[18] Sport Your Argument, talkSPORT, and Westwood One Podcast Network.[19]

On June 25, 2018, Audacy, Inc. (previously Entercom) announced that it would move online streaming of its stations from TuneIn to its then-named in-house Radio.com platform as an initiative of CBS radio.[20] In turn, Cumulus Media joined the TuneIn platform on August 9, 2018.[21]

On July 29, 2021, TuneIn and iHeartMedia announced a partnership, enabling TuneIn to distribute iHeartMedia's digital stations. The deal also granted TuneIn access to local advertising demand from iHeartMedia's monetization assets.[22]

In January 2022, TuneIn launched TuneIn On Air, which allows non-profit broadcasters, podcasters and other long-form content creators to access the company's apps and connected devices for digital distribution of their content.[23]

On June 21, 2023, Audacy signed a partnership with TuneIn, returning all of its stations, including the former CBS Radio Stations to the platform as well as adding its podcast library to the service.[24]

Music

In May 2018, the company announced it would stream concerts exclusively from several summer music festivals including Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival (San Francisco), Newport Jazz Festival (Newport, RI), Hangout Fest (Gulf Shores, Alabama), Firefly Music Festival (Dover, Delaware), and the Newport Folk Festival (Newport, RI).[25] [26]

In September 2018, Cathleen Robertson, better known as DJ Carisma of KRRL, joined TuneIn to head Hip-Hop/R&B curation and artist relations initiatives. DJ Carisma launched and hosted "The Element" and "The Element West" as part of this initiative.[27]

Sports

In August 2015, TuneIn announced deals with the MLB, the Premier League and the Bundesliga for live play-by-play coverage.[28] The deal also included the ability to cover minor league affiliates. In October 2015, the NFL announced a deal with TuneIn to broadcast live, play-by-play coverage of all NFL games to its premium subscribers.[29]

On December 22, 2015, the National Hockey League (NHL) announced that TuneIn would gain radio rights to the NHL. TuneIn would create an individual station for every NHL team to simulcast their home market broadcasts on. Additionally, TuneIn would create a replay channel for each team so fans could listen to the archived games. They would also create a 24/7 NHL Channel, and the NHL would embed TuneIn's players onto the NHL.com website. All TuneIn NHL items would be made available to the public for free. The first broadcasts for TuneIn began on January 1, 2016. [30] On September 22, 2022, the Anaheim Ducks announced that TuneIn would become the home for all of their game broadcasts, and launched a 24/7 station called Ducks Stream to broadcast team-related content.[31]

On February 15, 2019, the Oakland Athletics of the MLB announced that TuneIn would be launching a 24/7 exclusive A's station which would include free streaming of all the team's games within the team's market as well as exclusive team programming.[32] In 2020, it was planned for TuneIn to become the exclusive home of the A's in the Bay Area after the team abandoned radio. However, the team later struck up a deal with iHeartMedia to have KNEW serve as the team's flagship station and A's Cast moved to the iHeartRadio app.[33] [34]

In August 2020, TuneIn removed MLB and NBA content from its platform with no explanation given. The following month, TuneIn also removed NFL content from its platform without explanation.

As of August 2021, NFL content returned on TuneIn's platform.[35]

In March 2022, TuneIn signed a multi-year agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) to be an official audio partner of MLB, giving premium users access to live and on-demand play by play of all games, post-game analysis, and Spanish language broadcasts.[36]

On August 5, 2022, TuneIn announced they would carry all English Premier League matches.[37]

Audiobooks

In August 2015, the service launched deals with book publishers, including Penguin Random House and HarperCollins, to provide an audiobook library.[38] In December 2017, TuneIn announced that it would remove audiobooks as of January 15, 2018. However, as of July 7, 2023, TuneIn continues to offer audiobooks via its website.[39]

Partnerships

In October 2018, TuneIn partnered with MSNBC to exclusively represent the sales rights of podcast, Bag Man: A Rachel Maddow Original Podcast.[40] TuneIn also partnered with Adobe Advertising Cloud in June 2018 to integrate targeted audio ads to consumers via smart speakers.[41]

In January 2019, TuneIn announced a partnership with professional golfer Greg Norman to integrate its audio streaming platform into his line of connected golf carts called 'Norman's Shark Experience'.[42]

In November 2021, TuneIn partnered with News Corp-Owned News UK to bring UK-based news, music and sports coverage to the streaming platform.[43]

In April 2022, TuneIn partnered with Amazon to bring its TuneIn Premium subscription service to all Amazon Alexa-enabled devices.[44]

Legal issues

In 2017, TuneIn was sued by Sony Music UK and Warner Music UK, alleging copyright infringement by offering access to international radio stations not licensed for distribution in the United Kingdom. The companies also took issue with a feature in its premium tier, which was later disabled in the country, that allowed users to record broadcasts. In November 2019, the English High Court ruled that, despite TuneIn's arguments that the premium feature in question was merely an aggregator similar to a search engine, the TuneIn service infringed the labels' rights by making streams not licensed in the country available to its users (an infringement of the exclusive right to communicate a work to the public, under EU copyright law). The court granted a request for an appeal.[45] [46] [47]

In September 2020, TuneIn began to geoblock all international radio stations for users in the United Kingdom, citing the earlier court order.[48]

On March 29, 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court decision, ruling that TuneIn infringed the right of communication to the public.[49]

In May 2022, TuneIn removed United Kingdom stations that were not registered with the music licensing bodies PRS and PPL.[50]

Notes and References

  1. News: King. Ashley. TuneIn Adds French and Dutch Broadcasters to Global Lineup . Digital Music News. April 10, 2022.
  2. Web site: Online Radio Service TuneIn Comes To Tesla's Model S, Now Available On 200 Platforms. techcrunch.com. July 24, 2012 . June 25, 2017. October 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171013225000/https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/24/tunein-tesla-model-s/. live.
  3. Web site: Strauss, Karsten. "TuneIn Snags $25 Million In Funding, Looks To Grow". Forbes, 2013.. forbes.com. September 17, 2017. February 1, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170201153741/http://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/05/29/tunein-snags-25-million-in-funding-looks-to-grow/. live.
  4. Web site: Jacobson . Adam . November 23, 2020 . With Funding Injection, TuneIn Welcomes a New CEO Radio & Television Business Report . May 19, 2022 . en-US . January 23, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210123235051/https://www.rbr.com/with-funding-injection-tunein-welcomes-a-new-ceo/ . live .
  5. Web site: TuneIn Introduces Paid Tier With MLB Matches, Audio Books to Take On Satellite Radio. Janko. Roettgers. August 25, 2015. variety.com. December 10, 2017. December 5, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171205212529/http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/tunein-introduces-paid-tier-with-mlb-matches-audio-books-to-take-on-satellite-radio-1201577340/. live.
  6. News: TuneIn Radio Pro price jumps from $3.99 to $9.99. Martonik. Andrew. July 29, 2014. Android Central. November 10, 2017. June 24, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180624175058/https://www.androidcentral.com/tunein-radio-pro-price-jumps-399-999. live.
  7. Web site: August 28, 2020. TuneIn Pro app losing the ability to record live radio. March 30, 2021. Android Police. en-US. January 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210115173642/https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/08/28/tunein-pro-app-losing-the-ability-to-record-live-radio/. live.
  8. News: Shaw . Lucas . August 11, 2017 . TuneIn Raises $50 Million to Prove Online Audio Can Make Money . Bloomberg . live . April 15, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190415191112/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-11/tunein-raises-50-million-to-prove-online-audio-can-make-money . April 15, 2019.
  9. Web site: Liu . Gia . March 30, 2018 . TuneIn creates a premium radio service for sports-minded Alexa users . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190415185612/https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/tunein-live-radio-alexa/ . April 15, 2019 . April 15, 2019.
  10. Web site: Crist . Ry . TuneIn takes Alexa out to the ballgame with premium radio . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190415202509/https://www.cnet.com/news/tunein-takes-alexa-out-to-the-ball-game-with-premium-radio/ . April 15, 2019 . April 15, 2019 . CNET . en.
  11. Web site: March 29, 2018 . TuneIn launches a discounted audio subscription for Alexa owners and Prime members . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181216074423/https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/29/tunein-launches-a-discounted-audio-subscription-for-alexa-owners-and-prime-members/ . December 16, 2018 . December 12, 2018 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  12. TuneIn's Revamp Makes Streaming Audio More Social . live . Time . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184743/http://time.com/90462/tuneins-revamp-makes-streaming-audio-more-social/ . March 3, 2016 . May 8, 2014.
  13. Web site: March 29, 2018 . TuneIn launches a discounted audio subscription for Alexa owners and Prime members . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142942/https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/29/tunein-launches-a-discounted-audio-subscription-for-alexa-owners-and-prime-members/ . June 14, 2022 . April 15, 2019 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  14. Web site: TuneIn partners with ESPN Audio in time for live streaming coverage of college football Bowl games . Schmitt . Michael . RAIN . December 20, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130814131509/http://kurthanson.com/news/tunein-partners-espn-audio-time-live-streaming-coverage-college-football-bowl-games . August 14, 2013 .
  15. Web site: Interview: TuneIn CEO plans radio ad pre-rolls, personalization . Andrews . Robert . paidContent . August 29, 2012 . December 4, 2012 . December 27, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121227095111/http://paidcontent.org/2012/08/29/interview-tunein-ceo-plans-radio-ad-pre-rolls-personalization/ . live .
  16. Web site: TuneIn adds Entercom, Cox, Emmis stations to tuning service . Maloney . Paul . RAIN . June 28, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120704180915/http://www.kurthanson.com/news/tunein-adds-entercom-cox-emmis-stations-tuning-service . July 4, 2012 .
  17. News: TuneIn Forms Alliances With Over 20 Broadcasters . Radio Online . 2012 . December 4, 2012 . May 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094329/http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n25524 . live .
  18. News: TuneIn signs Bonneville . Marcucci . Carl . RBR.com . September 19, 2012 . December 4, 2012 . March 29, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329143342/http://rbr.com/tunein-signs-bonneville/ . live .
  19. News: Venta . Lance . August 9, 2018 . TuneIn Announces Addition Of Cumulus Media Stations To Its App . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180810072618/https://radioinsight.com/headlines/169871/tunein-announces-addition-of-cumulus-media-stations-to-its-app/ . August 10, 2018 . August 9, 2018 . RadioInsight . RadioBB Networks.
  20. Web site: Staff . R. W. . 2023-06-21 . Audacy Signs on With TuneIn . 2024-04-26 . Radio World . en-US.
  21. Web site: TuneIn . TuneIn and CUMULUS MEDIA Announce Multi-Year Expansion Deal . 2024-04-26 . www.prnewswire.com . en.
  22. Web site: TuneIn and iHeartMedia Partner on Strategic Technology and Content Distribution Deal . 2024-04-26 . www.iheartmedia.com . en.
  23. Web site: On Air TuneIn Free Internet Radio . 2024-04-26 . TuneIn . en-US.
  24. Web site: Audacy Extends Reach of its Streaming Content via Distribution and Monetization Agreement With TuneIn . 2024-04-26 . Audacy Inc. . en-US.
  25. Web site: Margo Price, Live In Concert Newport Folk 2018. NPR.org. en. April 15, 2019. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415185610/https://www.npr.org/2018/07/19/630615997/-margo-price-live-in-concert-newport-folk-2018. live.
  26. News: Festival Radio Stations Playing On TuneIn.. Insideradio.com. April 15, 2019. June 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142957/https://www.insideradio.com/free/festival-radio-stations-playing-on-tunein/article_0bba9128-5cc1-11e8-92e5-8f34513bb8e1.html. live.
  27. Web site: TuneIn Launches New Hip-Hop Station 'The Element' Hosted By DJ Carisma . 2024-04-26 . TuneIn . en-US.
  28. Web site: Are you ready for some football? TuneIn Premium adds NFL games to subscription. October 12, 2015. digitaltrends.com. December 3, 2015. December 8, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151208050841/http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/tunein-premium-mlb-soccer-audiobooks-ad-free-music/. live.
  29. Web site: NFL Games, Including The Super Bowl, Come To TuneIn. techcrunch.com. October 12, 2015 . June 25, 2017. September 15, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180915185816/https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/12/nfl-games-including-the-super-bowl-come-to-tunein/. live.
  30. Web site: updated . John Callaham last . 2015-12-22 . TuneIn to stream live NHL pro hockey games for free starting January 1 . 2024-04-26 . Android Central . en.
  31. Web site: Ducks Set to Launch Audio Streaming Network Today: Ducks Stream . 2022-11-04 . NHL.com . September 22, 2022 . en-US.
  32. Web site: A's announce new radio partnerships for upcoming season. February 15, 2019. The Mercury News. en-US. February 17, 2019.
  33. Web site: Oakland Athletics off the radio waves in the Bay Area, commit to A's Cast stream. February 18, 2020. The Mercury News. en-US. February 18, 2020. June 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142950/https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/18/oakland-athletics-off-the-radio-waves-in-the-bay-area-commit-to-as-cast-stream/. live.
  34. Web site: July 30, 2020. A's to add local radio station, 960 AM; change to iHeartRadio streaming service. July 30, 2020. SFChronicle.com. en-US. August 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200801054140/https://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/article/A-s-to-add-local-radio-station-960-AM-change-15447284.php. live.
  35. Web site: Volume. August 5, 2021. The NFL Season Is Finally Here. Get Live Access with TuneIn Premium.. September 1, 2021. Medium. en. June 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142953/https://blog.tunein.com/the-nfl-season-is-finally-here-get-live-access-with-tunein-premium-a0feb2fa642. live.
  36. Web site: Baseball Fans Rejoice: TuneIn Signs Multi-Year Partnership with Major League Baseball, Solidifies Place as an Official Audio Partner of MLB . 2023-02-15 . TuneIn . en-US.
  37. Web site: English Premier League Now On Tunein . Twitter . 5 August 2022.
  38. Web site: August 25, 2015 . TuneIn Launches TuneIn Premium With Ad-Free Radio, Audiobooks, MLB Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142952/https://techcrunch.com/2015/08/25/tunein-launches-tunein-premium-with-ad-free-radio-audiobooks-mlb-games/ . June 14, 2022 . April 17, 2020.
  39. Web site: December 22, 2017 . TuneIn Premium will stop offering audiobooks on January 15 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180812053615/https://www.androidcentral.com/tunein-premium-will-stop-offering-audiobooks-january-15 . August 12, 2018 . January 7, 2018 . androidcentral.com.
  40. Web site: Maddow's "Bag Man" Coming To TuneIn October 30. Ink. Radio. October 24, 2018. Radio Ink. en-US. April 15, 2019. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415191114/https://radioink.com/2018/10/23/maddows-bag-man-coming-to-tunein-october-30/. live.
  41. Web site: Adobe Advertising Cloud Teams With TuneIn To Prove Targeted Audio Ads Via Smart Speakers Is Scalable . July 2, 2018. en-US. April 15, 2019. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415185613/https://geomarketing.com/adobe-advertising-cloud-teams-with-tunein-to-prove-targeted-audio-ads-via-smart-speakers-is-scalable. live.
  42. Web site: FAQs . 2024-04-26 . Shark Experience presented by Verizon . en-US.
  43. Web site: 2021-11-04 . TuneIn Announces Partnership with News UK, Bringing More Best-in-Class Sports Content Offerings to TuneIn Radio Platform . 2024-04-26 . www.businesswire.com . en.
  44. Web site: TuneIn brings its subs service to all Alexa-enabled devices . April 15, 2022 . TechCrunch . en-US . June 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220614142952/https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/14/tunein-brings-its-paid-subscription-service-to-all-amazon-alexa-enabled-devices/ . live .
  45. Web site: TuneIn Blocks 1,000s of Radio Channels in UK But a VPN Restores Service. March 30, 2021. TorrentFreak. en. March 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210329165305/https://torrentfreak.com/tunein-blocks-1000s-of-radio-channels-in-uk-but-a-vpn-restores-service-200915/. live.
  46. Web site: February 24, 2021. TuneIn Takes Aim at Search-Engine Privilege in Major Labels Case Appeal. March 30, 2021. Digital Music News. en-US. April 19, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210419131228/https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/02/23/tunein-major-labels-appeal/. live.
  47. Web site: November 1, 2019. TuneIn loses copyright lawsuit filed by Sony and Warner in the UK – report. March 30, 2021. Music Business Worldwide. en-US. April 12, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412073900/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tunein-loses-copyright-lawsuit-filed-by-sony-and-warner-in-the-uk-report/. live.
  48. Web site: September 14, 2020. International radio stations now restricted on TuneIn. March 30, 2021. RadioToday. en-GB. September 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200914102631/https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/09/international-radio-stations-now-restricted-on-tunein/. live.
  49. Web site: TuneIn Infringed Labels' Copyrights, Court of Appeal Rules. March 30, 2021. TorrentFreak. en. March 29, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210329215427/https://torrentfreak.com/tunein-infringed-labels-copyrights-court-of-appeal-rules-210329/. live.
  50. Web site: TuneIn starts to remove UK radio stations from its platform. May 4, 2022. Radio Today. May 9, 2022. May 4, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220504230721/https://radiotoday.co.uk/2022/05/tunein-starts-to-remove-uk-radio-stations-from-its-platform/. live.

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