UK RadioPlayer to go on air March 31

An iPlayer style online application called the RadioPlayer will be launched in the UK on March 31, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Currently the BBC Iplayer offers radio streams, but only from BBC channels. Radioplayer is looking to feature between 200 to 300 individual BBC and commercial services. For audio, the console will have the normal audio controls, as well as a search box and a way to save pre-set channels like a car radio.

Stations such as BBC Radio 1 and Classic FM, who have adopted the player, will be able to use the technology to have a presence on internet-connected TV set top boxes, such as the BBC-backed YouView platform, Adrian Cross, leader of software development at Unique Interactive, the company developing UK Radioplayer, told Daily Telegraph

Programming will be streamed live but, unlike popular Internet radio apps for iPhone, users will have the option to download podcasts and listen to shows they have missed, the Daily Mail reported.

Listeners can look up individual artists or song names using a special search engine, which will direct them to stations playing them.

They can also search by station, programme and genre, while favourite stations and shows can be stored on dedicated personal playlists.

Currently, around 4.7million people already listen to the radio through the Internet each month, which amounts to 8 per cent of radio audience