Jelli going global; signs with Triton

Yet another online company for Triton Media to rep, but this time it’s a hybrid offering of online meets on-air: Jelli, which went live 10/20 with a beta release, is a multiplayer web-based game that lets people who listen to traditional radio stations completely control the songs that go on the air. It’s at www.jelli.net.

In June, Jelli launched a pilot with CBS Radio Bay Area affiliate LIVE 105 KITS. The Sunday night “Jelli Show” on LIVE 105 has been a ratings success, and two freshly inked deals have put Jelli in the pipeline for thousands more stations worldwide.

A syndication deal with Triton Media will make Jelli available to Triton’s more than 4,500 radio affiliates in the US beginning in early 2010.  Triton Radio Networks, via Dial-Global, will syndicate two daily Jelli programs – Top 40 Jelli and Rock Jelli – while Triton Digital will offer affiliates customized, 24/7 online Jelli experiences.

Jelli also struck a distribution deal with Australian broadcaster, Austereo, which next month will launch a hits-oriented Hot 30 Jelli show on stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.  Hot 30 Jelli will be broadcast daily on FM and digital radio, and available online 24-hours a day.

Jelli gives a community of listeners real-time control over what gets played on their streaming or terrestrial radio stations. Players search a deep catalog of song titles and pick tracks to add to the on-air playlist. Other players vote songs up or down one position at a time. Rockets and Bombs, Jelli currency earned by participating, shoot a song up to the top of the playlist or knock it off altogether. Jelli also lets communities band together to pull a song off the air instantly. A Jelli chat room gives all listeners a place to socialize, lobby for their favorite songs, and organize community-controlled playlists. An iPhone app will make Jelli mobile starting in early 2010.

RBR-TVBR observation: As we’ve stated before, stations that plug Jelli in to one of their time slots should play close attention to the songs folks pick--especially stuff that's not already on the playlist. For many Alternative stations, that could quickly morph their Alternative playlist into an Indie Rock playlist. Whatever a station's format, the regular playlist should be patterned after what's being picked--it's a good tool to use and more than one day a week should be exercised.