iHEART LAUNCHES BLACK INFORMATION NETWORK

BIN: Black Information Network, the first 24/7 all news audio service with a black voice and perspective, launched today through the iHeartRadio app and on dedicated all-news broadcast radio stations in markets such as Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle.

BIN will also provide the news service for iHeartMedia’s 91 hip-hop, R&B and gospel stations across the country, including Power 105.1 in New York, Real 92.3 in Los Angeles, WDAS and Power 99 in Philadelphia, WGCI and WVAZ in Chicago, WJLB in Detroit, The Beat in Houston, The Beat in Miami, WQUE in New Orleans, KMEL in San Francisco and others.

BIN will be a standalone business unit within iHeartMedia. Division President of the iHeartMedia Markets Group Tony Coles will be President of BIN; reporter Tanita Myers will be Director of News Operations for BIN.

“The commitment to service, and the immediate need we saw for a news and information destination for the Black community, accelerated the launch of BIN: Black Information Network to serve this community in an important new way,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. “We are honored to be joined by some of the most important companies in the world that are also committed to this mission.”

Instead of traditional ad supported media, BIN is being financially supported companies designated as National Founding Partners: Bank of America, CVS Health, GEICO, Lowe’s, McDonald’s USA, Sony, 23andMe and Verizon. The company says the partnership support will enable BIN to focus on providing a reliable news service without the daily pressure of ratings.

Selections of BIN’s broadcast radio content will also be distributed daily as podcasts across iHeartRadio’s podcast network.