Add another station to the dial: portal site Lycos Monday premiered its latest multimedia technology with the debut of the Lycos Radio Network.
The Lycos Radio Network is an online multimedia network that provides users with a combination of RealPlayer audio and video streams from a variety of music categories, enabling near-CD quality sound, the company said.
The interactive service uses disc jockeys to select music, break in for news or special promotions, and take requests either by phone or e-mail. There is a replay feature as well, for listeners who missed part of a song being played, and independent video and audio streams so users can watch and listen to a variety of content. Lycos also incorporated its recently launched MP3 music search into the radio network, allowing users to search for bands which have MP3 songs available.
So far there are five music channels devoted to adult contemporary, alternative rock, jazz, country and rhythm and blues. Brian Kalinowski, manager of multimedia products group for Lycos, said the company is planning an expansion into other areas of music, as well as news, talk, sports and other programming.
The music is provided through an agreement with music syndication firm Westwind Media.com.
“Our goal is to provide a unified music service. . .and to become a leader in multimedia content,” Kalinowski said. “The key to the service is to provide a great end-user experience.”
