The reach of Auburn’s own 89.9 KGRG-FM radio has just increased with the inclusion of the Green River Community College station in Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio free online digital radio service.
One of only two college radio stations chosen west of the Rockies, KGRG-FM joins Stanford University’s KZSU on the iHeartRadio roster, which already boasts 800 commercial radio stations.
iHeartRadio provides listeners with streaming digital radio service over the Internet, allowing them to listen to radio stations in whatever market they wish and even customize their own stations.
According to Clear Channel CEO and President John Hogan, the time was right to start bringing college stations on board.
“Bringing college radio stations to iHeartRadio is a great source of local and independent programming that offers our users a more diverse listening experience and also provides listeners new opportunities for music, news and sports exposure and discovery,” he said. “Many of our top on-air personalities started their radio careers at college radio stations and we are glad to give back by providing these great college stations with an industry-leading national distribution platform — iHeartRadio.”
For the 36-year-old KGRG-FM, which recently upgraded its transmitter to accommodate a state-of-the-art digital HD Radio signal, the inclusion in iHeart Radio is a chance to increase the availability of the programs and music played on the station, according to Tom Evan Krause, director of broadcast operations at the station.
“This was a great opportunity for the students, station and Green River Community College,” he said. “Our inclusion in the first wave of iHeartRadio’s college station rollout means that we can connect with students, alumni and college friends in an entirely different and unique way. Our graduates work for some of the biggest radio stations around the country, and this is a great way to validate what our students, past and present, have worked so hard to achieve.”
KGRG-FM is available for streaming at www.iheart.com or www.kgrg.com. Downloadable applications for Apple and Android mobile systems through iHeartRadio are expected in the next few weeks.
