• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 27, 2011

Clear Channel plans to add Spanish-language programming from Univision Radio to the New iHeartRadio platform. The content partnership -- the first third-party distribution relationship for the digital platform -- includes music, sports, and talk formats, as well as leading AM and FM Spanish-language radio personalities.

The content-sharing deal will bring programming from 70 Univision radio stations, including 45 stations that are already streaming digital content, to iHeartRadio listeners via the Web and mobile devices, some of which now enable in-car listening.

Univision stations offer a range of genres and formats, including Latin adult contemporary, regional Mexican, Tejano, Spanish rhythmic, and Spanish contemporary.

The New iHeartRadio platform, officially unveiled Sept. 23 at the iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas, will also carry popular Spanish-language radio personalities, including Omar & Argelia, Dra. Isabel, Luis Jiménez, Piolín and Javier Romero.

The partnership with Univision brings the total portfolio of iHeartRadio programming to more than 800 broadcast radio and digital-only stations, drawn from 150 cities nationwide; listeners can also create their own customized radio stations.

The New iHeartRadio platform is partly the product of an integration with Thumbplay, acquired by Clear Channel in March of this year. It was designed to position iHeartRadio as a free alternative to Pandora by offering music on demand, custom stations and new listening suggestions based on their preferences -- in addition to access to digital streaming from its broadcast stations and a variety of digital-only stations, which Clear Channel says will be commercial-free until the end of the year.

The New iHeartRadio platform allows listeners to create their own personalized radio stations using Thumbplay's "Playlist Genie" and "Favorites" functions. Clear Channel said the Thumbplay acquisition will also allow it to deploy a variety of subscription services across a number of digital platforms, including the Internet, automotive and mobile devices.

In March of this year, Clear Channel acquired Thumbplay -- which allows users to listen to unlimited, on-demand music on their computer or mobile device, both on- and offline -- with an eye to integrating it with iHeartRadio.