With the growing popularity of radio stations streaming online, Clear Channel Radio reports today that online audiences are flocking to the company's radio Web streams. In his July 22 FMQB cover story interview, Clear Channel Radio EVP Evan Harrison said that streaming Clear Channel radio stations was "paramount to get done immediately and was one-hundred percent necessary to even be in the online game." The move has paid off as Clear Channel currently has about 400 radio stations streaming online, and data from the June comScore/Arbitron Online Ratings Report says that the company's Web traffic has increased by 177 percent in 2005.

"We're successfully extending the intimate bond that our radio stations have with their listeners to the online world," commented Harrison.

The comScore/Arbitron report also says that in an average week in June, Clear Channel Online Music & Radio sites pulled in more than 850,000 listeners for streaming broadcasts, which is an additional 100,000 listeners per week compared to the previous month. Time Spent Listening for Clear Channel's online stations increased by 51 percent year-to-date, and since January 2005, the company reportedly rose from last place to third place in the number of weekly listeners.