Now Hear This: Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Partners With KYW-AM to Launch Online Tourism Radio Station

Now Hear This: Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Partners With KYW-AM to Launch Online Tourism Radio Station

Starr Restaurants Already Aligned With Hear Philly!

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Love won't be the only thing in the air on Thursday, February 14. That's also the day when the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and KYW Newsradio, a CBS station, will launch Hear Philly!, an Internet radio station devoted to sounding off on all of the great things to do in Philly.

This newly created online broadcast station, accessible exclusively on http://www.gophila.com/, Philadelphia's official tourism Web site, and http://www.kyw1060.com/, will take listeners on an audio odyssey throughout the Philadelphia region, with reports on events, exhibitions, attractions, restaurants, shops, performing arts and more. In the coming weeks, local listeners with HD radios will be able to listen to Hear Philly! on 94WYSP's HD-3 channel. The broadcasts, anchored by KYW Newsradio's Krista Jasillo and supported by editorial content from GPTMC and several well-known KYW Newsradio reporters, will be updated daily.

The Hear Philly! listening portal also contains quick links to news, tourism information and weather forecasts, allowing audiophiles to plan their trip as they hear about everything the Philadelphia region has to offer. And since the program is accessible via two well-established Web sites, listeners can immediately get more information about the many events and attractions featured on the broadcasts, and in some cases, buy tickets and book hotel rooms and rental cars.

"Hear Philly! gives us a new way to connect to tourists and potential visitors with the authentic sounds and stories that make Philly unique," said Meryl Levitz, president and CEO, GPTMC.

The advertising-supported Internet radio station already has clients lined up to participate in the new venture. Starr Restaurants, led by famed restaurateur Stephen Starr, will be the primary advertiser for Hear Philly! during the online station's first month of existence. Other restaurants, hotels and local businesses are expected to advertise on the site in the future.

Thirty-second radio spots on Hear Philly! are available to advertisers, who can also take advantage of the immediacy of the Internet by including a hyperlink on the http://www.hearphilly.com/ Web page that will take listeners directly to a client's Web site to buy tickets, make reservations and learn more. In addition, video pre-roll ads on the Hear Philly! player will catch the eye of everyone who logs onto the online radio station.

"Hear Philly! has a theater-of-the-mind quality about it. It showcases the city's rich history and cultural offerings in a way that gives listeners a true feel for what Philadelphia will be like when they visit," said David Yadgaroff, KYW Newsradio, vice president and general manager. "And for people who have lived here their entire lives, Hear Philly! will reveal things they never knew about their own home town."

Hear Philly! will be marketed locally on the air on KYW Newsradio and on the http://www.kyw1060.com/ Web site. GPTMC will use its vast resources to promote it through cooperative advertising, advertorials, media relations and on http://www.gophila.com/.

KYW-AM is owned and operated by CBS RADIO, one of the largest major-market radio operators in the United States. A division of CBS Corporation, CBS RADIO operates 140 radio stations, the majority of which are in the nation's top 50 markets. CBS RADIO also owns and operates WOGL, WIP, WYSP and WPHT in Philadelphia.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside(R) a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region's vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation

CONTACT: Khalid Patterson of Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing
Corporation, +1-215-599-2291, khalid@gptmc.com; or Kyle Ruffin of KYW
Newsradio, +1-215-238-4970, ruffin@kyw.com

Web site:

http://www.gophila.com/
http://www.kyw1060.com/
http://www.hearphilly.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For high-resolution photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit the photo gallery of http://www.gophila.com/pressroom.

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