Optus and Macquarie Radio Network (MRN) have announced an agreement to offer radio on demand services to Optus’ 6.4 million mobile customers.

The innovation allows Optus customers to access a variety of radio content including news and sport on their mobile handset. Customers simply dial 966 (Zoo) and follow the voice prompts to access the content of their choice.

MRN is the principal audio content provider for Optus mobiles, and tells radioinfo it’s the first AM radio service to deliver audio content to mobile phones. MRN will supply Optus with customised content highlights and a simulcast radio stream from leading talk radio station, 2GB.

MRN CEO, Angela Clark told radioinfo: “Our partnership with Optus means MRN’s diverse range of audio content is now instantly available to a significant national audience. Millions of Optus mobile phone customers Australia-wide will be able to access up-to-the minute content from MRN’s banner station 2GB, as well as new digital content produced specifically for Optus mobile customers.”

“Radio is the most agile of all broadcast mediums, which makes it a natural fit for a real-time application. MRN is able to deliver immediate news and information services faster. This means Optus customers will get our news material first on their mobile phones – on the go.”

A broad range of content will be available to Optus customers including:

The continuously updated Macquarie National News service…program services including Alan Jones Daily Comments, Entertainment News including: Movie Reviews, Feature Interviews, Jokes and Gossip News and…2GB Live Radio stream of Ray Hadley’s “Continuous Call Team” NRL highlights and game calls via internet stream.

Chris Lane, Group Director, Products and Delivery, Optus Consumer told radioinfo:“Optus has effectively opened up a new mobile channel for radio content distribution. Mobile users can now enjoy round the clock access to the latest news and sports updates, horoscopes and ring-tones. This is yet another example of the possibilities of convergence on the mobile phone.”

Pratapa Bernard, Director and Country Manager, OnMobile Australia explained: “Optus is using OnMobile’s innovative multimodal technology to offer this new service. The convergence between the mobile and radio mediums is made possible by the OnMobile platform and makes the service really easy to use.”

Calls for the service are charged at 30 cents per 30 seconds. Additional charges may apply for certain content.