SAN ANTONIO, TX -- It's an unprecedented deal between two of the biggest companies in radio: Cumulus Media is joining iHeartRadio, the platform owned by Clear Channel which already provides mobile streaming of more than 800 Clear Channel stations. By adding the 570 stations owned by Cumulus, iHeartRadio will offer roughly 1400 stations -- many direct competitors with each other -- through one single application.
The New York Times was first to break the story last night, and national media trade websites like Radio-Info and AllAccess were quick to pick up on the news this morning.
As part of the deal, ClearChannel stations will begin promoting deals offered through "SweetJack," the Cumulus-owned daily-deal website which competes with online-only sites like Groupon and LivingSocial.
In the Syracuse market, the deal will mean we'll soon see CHR format competitors 93Q (WNTQ/Cumulus) and Hot 107.9 (WWHT/Clear Channel) appearing in the same list when one looks up local stations on iHeartRadio. The same goes for Clear Channel's FM Newsradio 106.9 and 570 WSYR, and Cumulus' 105.9 The Big Talker (WXTL).
There's no direct Clear Channel competition to Cumulus rock station 95X (WAQX) or sports talker The Score 1260 (WSKO). Other Clear Channel stations in Syracuse include adult contemporary Y94FM (WYYY), country B104.7 (WBBS), and urban Power 620 (WHEN).
CNYRadio.com also covers happenings in the Utica-Rome and Ithaca/Cortland markets, but neither company owns any stations in either market.