Few people enjoy conference calls at the best of times, but what about all that time wasted with interruptions and delays? Yup, not ideal, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil.
With that in mind, HereHere Radio is looking to bring a little more pizzazz to “hold time” as it reveals a partnership with fellow Chicago company InterCall, one of the largest conference call providers in the world.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1616446,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,","session":"A"}']HereHere Radio first came to the Web’s consciousness last year when it launched Rivet News Radio for iOS, followed by an Android incarnation just a few months back.
In a nutshell, Rivet News Radio is what you’d get if Pandora and Flipboard had a child — bite-sized nuggets of audio news served up based on broad filters you set in advance.
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Based out of a small newsroom in downtown Chicago, a bustling team of around 30 contract broadcasters read out news from a myriad of publications, although you can choose to hear only those from specific genres such as technology, science, business, lifestyle, politics and more. Then you just hit play.
With the InterCall partnership in place, users will be served with automated national (U.S.) and global news playlists as they wait for calls to begin. Somewhat more enlightening than listening to “The Only Way Is Up” played on pan pipes, you’ll no doubt agree.
The tie-up represents part of the startup’s Rivet Select offering, a business-focused service that delivers a curated stream of news tailored for each client. Existing content partners include the Associated Press and Chicago Sun-Times.
Today’s news also comes shortly after HereHere Radio struck a deal with Jaguar Land Rover Automotive (JLR) to bring news snippets to its luxury cars around the world. Rivet is powering business, technology, and current affairs news in all Jaguar F-type and XE sedans, with all JLR models being added to the mix from 2015.
In addition to monetizing through licensing its productions to third parties, HereHere Radio is also hoping to grab a chunk of the lucrative $15 billion radio advertising market. This would supplement nicely its big push toward the automotive realm, where radio remains a popular mode of entertainment.
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HereHere Radio is a self-funded startup founded back in 2012 by former Navteq executive John MacLeod, and it recently raised $1.7 million from Chicago venture capitalist Steve Miller.
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