Pump up the volume

Radio livestreams now supported in mobile apps

Local Public mobile apps and web portals now support radio streams. Our latest app release (2.10), which is now live, has room for unlimited radio livestreams.

This is the first piece of our ongoing radio, NPR and podcast integration project. Currently, livestreams are available on iOS and Android mobile apps, and the web. Schedule information will be coming soon.

Mobile app streams can play in the background, feature lock-screen controls and work with AirPlay and Cast.

Future improvements will incorporate radio schedules, a “lean-back” user experience for large screen apps (OTT and smart TV), and expanded audio on-demand features.

Current Local Public clients can add audio streams today, directly via the Local Public CMS. Send us a message in your station’s Slack channel, and we can help you test before sending your station(s) live.

Download the WETA+ mobile app to hear for yourself.

Age verification compliance

Also in the 2.10 release, iOS and Android apps now use Apple and Google age verification tools, to meet the requirements of the new Texas App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420).

As of today, this only affects our friends in Texas. But similar laws are in the works in other states, so Local Public will keep close tabs on developments and expand the functionality as needed. No action is necessary by stations. This compliance just works with app store tools.

Our next major app release is coming soon

Hot on the heels of the 2.10 release, the Local Public team is working on a major 3.0 release which will refresh the app UX and lay the foundation for the next generation of app features.

Improvements in the 3.0 release will include:

• Fresh look on the home screen (Mobile) - a new hero card design, and a refreshed navigation for Featured, Series and Movies pages.
• A refreshed navigation bar (Mobile): Search has been moved to the navigation bar where it's always a quick tap away. The navigation bar has also been re-styled to work better across a variety of screen sizes, especially on tablets.
• My List refresh (TV & Mobile) - A refreshed ‘My List’ page with more content including new ‘Liked Videos’ and ‘Liked Shows’ categories.
• Refreshed Settings (TV & Mobile) - Easier navigation, fewer menus and a cleaner layout
• Audio on TV - Live audio streams are coming to the TV apps, joining mobile and the web portal.
• Many more feature improvements and bug fixes across the platform!

More details are coming soon, along with release dates.

Header photo by Ilias Chebbi on Unsplash