Amazon Music Bows on Comcast Xfinity X1, First TV Availability Via a Pay-TV Provider

Amazon Music launched on Xfinity X1, Comcast said Thursday, the first time the service will be available directly on a TV via a pay-TV provider. It rolls out over the next few weeks for broadband customers and will be accessible alongside live, on-demand and web content, Comcast said. Amazon’s music service is also available on the $5-per-month Xfinity Flex (see 1903210038), Comcast’s recently launched internet-only service that includes a streaming TV box and voice remote. Xfinity X1 and Flex customers can say “Amazon Music” into their voice remote to browse, discover and listen to “millions of songs and thousands of playlists and stations,” it said. Last year, Comcast and Amazon launched Prime Video on X1. Meanwhile, iHeartRadio pushed radio in a Thursday announcement, saying the medium continues to reach more people daily than others, citing an Ipsos study. Broadcast radio reaches 85 percent of consumers, more than other audio channels including social media (68 percent) and live TV (56 percent); it has twice the daily listening of streaming services, reaching 69 percent of consumers vs. streaming music’s 34 percent. Millennials and Gen Z listen the most at more than 18 hours per week and 2.6 hours per day. Most audio listening, 65 percent, is outside the home and 65 percent of that is done in the car. The rise of smart speakers has made radio “more prominent than ever in the home,” it said, with smart speaker owners spending 47 percent more time listening to radio 8-10 p.m. than listeners without smart speakers. The study, done by Ipsos for iHeartMedia in March, surveyed 6,016 consumers 13-64 who listen to at least one audio platform once a week. Podcast listening is up 48 percent among 12-24-year-olds, said iHeartRadio, citing an Edison Infinite Dial study.