Hybrid Television Services will be launching a new service on Monday, May 18, that will allow TiVo owners to download podcasts from both Nova and Vega radio stations.

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According to Hybrid Television Services, this new service provides highlights of all seven Nova and Vega regional breakfast and drive time shows updated on a daily basis.  Podcasts will stream “on demand”, which means they start playing immediately on the TiVo without any need to download the content.

Broadband data usage for the service varies between 1 and 30MB, depending on the length of the podcast and the listening time. Customers who have an internet service with Hybrid TV’s unmetered partners. Internode or Primus (from 1 June), will be able to stream the podcasts without incurring any additional data charges with their ISP.

CEO of Hybrid TV, Robbee Minicola commented, “Radio is loved by Australians and until now the radio experience has been quite separate from the TV experience. This new podcast service is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how we want to bring radio into the home…both on the TV and more importantly played through TV sound system. dmg took a chance with us to experiment and deliver this service, that’s what this new world is all about – partnerships that let the consumer win. This new service is just another surprise for our customers when they turn on their TiVo…automatic, free and no worries about subscription.”

CEO of dmg Radio Australia, Cath O’Connor added; “The TiVo media device provides a new platform for dmg Radio as a content owner.  Launching Nova and Vega podcasts through the TiVo is another exciting example of the broadening opportunities that we see to have our content reach beyond broadcasting to other platforms.  Initiatives such as this allow us to capitalise on the growing interest in radio podcasts, which can now be offered from the central screen.”

See: www.tivo.com