Yahoo readying Web radio feature

Yahoo is preparing to unveil its latest multimedia offering: Yahoo Radio.

The offering, still in beta, will be powered by Net radio company Spinner.com.

The beta of Yahoo Radio comes just weeks after the portal acquired streaming content aggregator Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in stock. The acquisition positions Yahoo to Webcast multimedia content to users and will boost the portal's broadband offerings. Broadcast.com streams events to consumers such as baseball games and radio shows and offers earnings calls or corporate presentations to business clients.

Yahoo declined comment on the new service. A Spinner spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Internet radio is becoming a popular offering, and many media companies--both online and off--are moving to get a piece of the action. Viacom, for example, in February acquired Imagine Radio for its upcoming music destination site, which has the working title the "Buggles Project."

And Yahoo is not the first portal to tap the Web radio market. Lycos recently launched the Lycos Radio Network, which is powered by Westwind Media.

Similar to the service on Spinner's own site, Yahoo Radio offers an array of music channels, such as "The '80s," "Alternative Rock," "Y! Jazz," "Y! Classical," "Y! Country," "Y! R&B Jamz," and "Classic Rock," among others.