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iHeartMedia announces Pride Radio, an FM extension of an online station

pride radio logoiHeartMedia has announced 96.7 Pride Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul, the only terrestrial station in the U.S. devoted to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) programming.

The new station flips the switch today, at 6pm EDT (5pm local Central Time), starting things off with a 24-hour blast of Madonna records. After that, it’s two weeks of nonstop, commercial-free music programming.

Over the last 15 years, FM radio has gradually extended its brands online, either via simulcasting or creating original streams derived from the broadcast signal. Much less common is an FM extension of a popular pureplay Internet-only station.  The new signal is borrowing from Internet radio in another way, with the two-week zero-ad-load attraction. If the traditionally heavy ad load of FM radio turns off some listeners, 15 days of uninterrupted music is a great way to attract awareness and share.

96.7 Pride Radio is derived from iHeartRadio’s home-built Pride Radio, which the company characterizes as one of its “most listened-to dance hit and remix stations.”

“June is Pride Month, and I can imagine no better time to launch a station this important to the Twin Cities community,” said Hartley Adkins, Executive Vice President of Operations for iHeartMedia.  “This groundbreaking station represents a place for amazing music and entertainment, but also a platform for the LGBT community.  96.7 Pride Radio is a destination to express opinions, be heard and connect.”

 

Brad Hill

One Comment

  1. There is nothing new about ‘Pride Radio’, or anything really different about it from its FM, primarily HD2, counterpart.

    None of the HD2s or the streams have every hit the ratings in either way you would get it, it’s always been found on Tunein or iHeartRadio, but since we have no breakouts on listenership to various stations on either, we don’t know what it’s really doing either, and it could be getting an audience.

    Programming seems to, from what I ran across on a Vegas HD2, is primarily EDM and similar music, and some other things, much is of little interest to any audience, to attract anyone to it.

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