Yahoo hands Launchcast to CBS Radio
Through a deal, the provider of free Internet stations of music, talk, news, and sports content will join the ranks of other CBS Radio stations.
Yahoo announced on Wednesday that it has entered an agreement with CBS Radio that will see the media giant gain full control over Yahoo's Launchcast Radio, a service that provides more than 150 free stations of music, talk, news, and sports content.
Launchcast will be combined with CBS Radio's current offering, and all advertising sales responsibility will be passed from Yahoo to CBS. A new CBS Radio player will be integrated into the Yahoo Music site, and most importantly, Launchcast will finally be available to Firefox, Mac, and Safari users. The software was previously available only to Windows users running Internet Explorer.
Yahoo has spent considerable energy revamping its music service this year. In February, the company closed its subscription-based music service, citing poor performance, and in September, it announced a partnership with Rhapsody that allows users to stream full-length songs in search results.
Now that CBS Radio has taken Launchcast off its hands, it seems that Yahoo is trying to find the right balance between offering music and reducing expenses.
The new Launchcast will be unveiled sometime during the first quarter of 2009, on CBS Radio's streaming service.
Disclosure: CBS Radio is a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS, publisher of CNET News.