¡Viva iHeart! App Adds South Of The Border Access

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When it comes to consumption of radio stations on a smart speaker, laptop, smartphone or any other connected media device, iHeartRadio — along with TuneIn, Entercom’s Radio.com and Townsquare Media’s radioPup — are the key apps consumers go to for instant gratification of AM and FM stations using the service.


Until now, the iHeartRadio app had been limited to the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Starting November 3, the app will be made available to oyentes across Mexico, widening a pact with one of the nation’s biggest radio broadcasting companies forged in 2014.

Now in beta mode is iHeartRadio México, a Spanish-language version of the company’s app designed for use across the nation. The official launch on Saturday is timed to coincide with the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina concert in Miami. It is only available to iPhone or Android smartphones with registered phone numbers in Mexico, using such service providers as Telcel, Movistar and AT&T México.

For those in Mexico, the dedicated app opens up access to all 850 iHeartMedia live radio streams, bringing its U.S. stations south of the border.

At the same time, it widens a relationship with leading radio broadcasting company Grupo ACIR, which already uses iHeartRadio as a streaming audio platform for its 56 stations.

Grupo ACIR’s stations include popular national brands such as “Amor,” which focuses on Latin Pop ballads; “La Comadre,” focusing on the grupero style of regional Mexican music; and Classic Hits “MIX,” which features English-language pop and rock from the 1980s and can be heard in 13 markets across Mexico.

Grupo ACIR joined the iHeart platform in July 2014, but Mexican audiences have been shut out of using iHeartRadio — until now. The arrival of iHeartRadio to Mexico comes as streaming audio use via Spotify is rising dramatically, concurrent to the arrival of favorably priced data plans with Telcel, Movistar and AT&T México.

Due to contractual issues, ACIR-controlled XHPOP-FM 99.3 in Mexico City, the market’s home for Radio Disney en español under license from its U.S. sibling, will not be accessible on iHeart. It is accessible via other streaming platforms, including WorldRadioMap. Unlike Radio Disney in the U.S., the Mexico City version is a full-blown CHR/Pop station, but targeting teen listeners.

Mexican audiences will also be given access to pop-focused online-only station On The Move with Enrique Santos and iHeart80s Radio. Music from the 1980s is extremely popular in Mexico City, with ACIR’s “Mix” competing against “Stereo Cien,” owned by NRM Comunicaciones.

“This partnership will allow us to better connect with our audience by delivering an incredible free music listening experience and providing amazing technology to our users and partners,” notes Grupo ACIR CEO Antonio Ibarra. “Our advertisers will also benefit from new comprehensive digital tools to reach their consumers more efficiently.”

Darren Davis, President of iHeartRadio and iHeartMedia Networks Group, adds, “To extend iHeartRadio’s footprint across México allows us to expand our brand and reach to even more listeners globally.”

— Supplemented by reporting from Tlalnepantla, EDOMX.


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