NPR® and Member Stations Expand Internet Service

Washington, DC-National Public Radio® (NPR), in cooperation with its member stations, is expanding service to the public radio audience by using the newest Internet streaming technology. NPR is one of ten preset buttons in Microsoft Corp.'s new MSN Web Events Radio Station Guide launched today. The new technology will also enhance NPR member stations' ability to attract Web audiences to their local station Web sites.

The Radio Station Guide is accessible from the new Windows Radio Toolbar in Microsoft's latest browser, Internet Explorer 5. Listeners will be able to type in their zip code and access their local NPR member station, if the station is Webcasting.

Microsoft and NPR will work with an initial group of ten NPR member stations to provide local program streams for the service, and more NPR stations will be added over time. "Using Windows Media and the button on the Radio Station Guide allows us to continue to expand service to NPR member stations and listeners," says M.J. Bear, Director of New Media at NPR. "We are pleased with the prospect of getting more NPR stations Webcasting than ever before."

Internet versions of key NPR programs such as Morning Edition® and All Things Considered® will be included in the new program stream, after their initial broadcast on the West Coast. Except for occasional live events, NPR and its member stations have previously offered only on-demand audio files. When users launch the Windows Radio toolbar from the IE browser, they can click onto a continuous audio feed of NPR programming, already previously transmitted.

National Public Radio, a membership organization of 607 public radio stations across America, is radio's leading provider of high-quality news, information and cultural programming. NPR is the producer and distributor of award-winning programs such as Morning Edition®, All Things Considered®, NPR's Performance Today® and CarTalk.