Clear Channel's Z100 Launches Unified Instant Messenger
- by Newswire Report , July 22, 2003
The Z100 Messenger is powered by GTV's Global-IM (GIM) solution and is immediately available as a free download at Z100's Web site at www.Z100.com.
With today's announcement, Clear Channel New York's Z100 becomes the first major radio brand to launch an Instant Messaging service that seamlessly interoperates between all popular consumer IM services and networks. The new Z100 Messenger service breaks down barriers between popular consumer IM products, allowing users to maintain and consolidate multiple contact lists, verify whether their friends are online and instantly communicate with them and transfer files.
Additionally, the Z100 Messenger offers features and functionality far beyond traditional instant messaging. Registered users can partake of a wide variety of music news and exclusive Z100 content. The service also provides instant access to information about Z On the Street events and other local time-sensitive happenings.
The Z100 Messenger is powered by GTV's unique Global-IM (GIM) solution; a consumer-oriented, enterprise-grade Instant Messaging product designed specifically for private-label deployment by consumer entertainment and media brands. GTV's GIM interoperates between all popular consumer IM networks, empowering consumer media brands to open one-to-one marketing channels that grow exponentially. GIM is built atop GTV's powerful Sonork communications platform and is highly customizable for each media brand, easily integrating online content and service offerings in a consistent branded environment.
"GTV's Global-IM (GIM) solution is helping Clear Channel's Z100 to extend its branded interactive initiatives into the world of Instant Messaging, offering a highly-monetizable service that Web users will appreciate and utilize on a regular basis," said Ken Mayer, GTV's Chairman and CEO. "This new solution meets the demands of IM users who yearn for a way to communicate seamlessly across all popular services and combine their multiple contact lists into a single convenient tool, while deepening their relationships to their favorite media brands and personalities."
Over the past several years, Instant Messaging has gained widespread popularity among the majority of Internet users, ranging from teenagers to stock brokers and beyond. While representing a convenient way to communicate, the lack of interoperability between such mainstream providers as AOL, MSN, ICQ and Yahoo has kept IM from gaining the ubiquity of email or telephone communications. For this reason many IM users have previously maintained multiple accounts with different services and were forced to download and utilize several different software applications to reach all the friends, family and business associates with whom they wish to communicate.
The new Z100 Messenger, powered by GTV's Global-IM (GIM), helps to alleviate this pressing consumer concern.
GTV also offers a suite of Enterprise Instant Messaging and Collaborative Information Management solutions that enable businesses to securely communicate, while reducing costs, improving workflow and increasing efficiencies across their organizations. GTV's Sonork-EIM, which was unveiled earlier this year, enables rapid deployment of presence-based messaging, localization, and collaborative networks within a secure enterprise environment. Like GTV's Global-IM (GIM), Sonork-EIM is built atop the powerful Sonork Application Platform - which is deployment tested and features an extensible design that provides the flexibility to create custom applications tailored for each customer's needs.
