Clear Channel has yet another new player…. now it takes up your entire screen! Player is flash based, and it may work in Canada now (?)
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From London Ontario Canada (near Detroit)
Sample n=6 Clear Channel Classic Rock FM stations:
KZPS TX + WAXQ NY – both = FLASH, work OK.
WBFX MI, WWSW PA, WKLS GA, WQBW WI –
ALL = WinMediaPlayer (embedded)
ALL work OK using IE but not Firefox.
(I use Firefox 95% of the time, but it is not unusual to have to switch to IE for some media streaming sites, despite WMP plug-in for Firefox.)
From London Ontario 2
Sample n=12 Clear Channel Classic Rock FM stations (from SRG links):
KKRW TX, KRFX CO – both = FLASH, work OK.
KBCO CO, WBBG OH, KJR WA, WRFQ SC, WEKL GA, KGB CA,
WIBA WI, WYCL FL, KLOU MO, KGOR NE
ALL = WinMediaPlayer (embedded)
ALL work OK using IE.
P.S. I personally have never encountered a blocked USA RADIO station here in Canada, and I have auditioned hundreds.
By contrast, MANY UK radio stations are restricted to UK only.
Where Canada – and all non USA – gets blocked is on many USA TV stations/networks eg ABC, Hulu. This is understandable because it involves real bandwidth eg 500-900 kbps vs 32-64 k for radio, PLUS broadcast rights.
Clear Channel had never been specific why – my best theory was the CRTC until about a month ago was holding hearings on requiring broadcasters who “allowed” their internet streams to be heard in Canada to comply with Canada’s domestic content rules (ala Sesame Street in the 1970s) or perhaps pay a “tax” for not complying… They recently realized the futility of regulating content on the internet and dropped the idea – that may be why Clear Channel is now streaming to Canada, if your observations are typical. Or it may just be nobody is paying attention – Clear Channel is broke and trying desperately to avoid being taken over by the banks who lent them $20 billion. They have a lot on their plate at the moment.
If Clear Channel (CC) wanted to block Canada, they would logically start with their corporate (FLASH) media player which contains 350 of their stations:
http://www.iheartradio.com/national_radio_tuner/main.html
However, iheartradio (one of the dumbest names of all time) works fine here in The Frozen North.
(Notice how the temperature drops 20° when you cross the border from Detroit to Windsor.)
They probably realized that the cost of ‘transmitting’ to likely a handful of Canadians (there are more people in California than all of Canada) is negligible.
I will not a shed a tear if CC goes under. They were a major force in eliminating thousands of jobs in radio while destroying much of the character that made local radio appealing.
CC blocked Canada isn’t a “theory” – it’s a fact. It has been true as long as I have had the web site (going back to 2005). What’s changed is they appear to have recent stopped blocking it.
Okay if I forward all the Canada hate mail to you? :)
I am sorry for the confusion.
I am NOT suggesting this is a theory, and do not doubt that Clear Channel WAS blocking Canada.
I am only saying that, as of July 27 2009, it would seem they are no longer doing that.
You would think that they would tell you – because you run a website that steers a lot of people to their stations – yes/no if you asked them by email.
I was only trying to be helpful by responding to your original comment at the top of this page: “and it may work in Canada now (?)”
My guess is the change occurred on June 8 2009 with the launch of a new initiative to increase online and mobile delivery of Clear Channel’s content.
Key to this is the iheartradio FLASH multimedia player.
Should anyone care, here are four brief reports:
http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/clear-channel-with-radio-ad-revenue-falling-ramps-up-digital-strategy/
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20090608&ID=9987722&Symbol=US:CCMO
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=96698
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090608005281&newsLang=en