• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 28, 2012

The digital radio space is hopping, with a sudden spate of content and distribution deals involving online platforms and big broadcast players. In the latest developments, Yahoo struck a deal with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment (formerly Clear Channel Radio) to incorporate the latter’s iHeartRadio into Yahoo’s digital radio service, while TuneIn struck distribution deals giving it access to streaming digital from Cox, Emmis and Entercom.
 
Clear Channel and Yahoo signed a multiyear agreement bringing iHeartRadio content, including streaming audio programming from over 1,000 radio stations nationwide, to Yahoo digital radio. Yahoo will also become the exclusive Web and mobile destination for the upcoming iHeartRadio Music Festival, scheduled to take place September 21-22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as well as live Webcasts from a concert series planned for other cities.

Clear Channel and Yahoo will promote each other’s content on iHeartRadio.com, local radio station sites, and the Yahoo Media Network.
 
Yahoo also announced that it will begin distributing content from Spotify, which offers digital audio via a free, ad-supported model, as well as paid subscriptions. The Clear Channel and Spotify deals help bolster Yahoo’s offerings in the digital music arena, where it has lagged since the demise of Yahoo Music Unlimited, a paid digital subscription service, in 2008.
 
Separately, TuneIn has struck deals with Cox Media Group, Emmis Communications, and Entercom Communications, giving it access to digital streaming audio content from station Web sites maintained by all three broadcast radio groups.
 
The deal covers 86 Cox stations in 19 markets around the country, with formats including music, sports, news and talk; 18 Emmis stations in six markets around the country, including New York City, Los Angeles, and St. Louis; and 111 Entercom stations in 23 markets nationwide, including San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Portland, Sacramento and Kansas City. For its part, TuneIn claims to reach an audience of 30 million listeners per month.
 
Earlier this week, Emmis and Cox also announced partnerships with Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio, giving the latter access to digital content from the same stations. Slacker announced it is launching personalized lifestyle stations, targeting male and female listeners, with content from ABC Radio.