North Central’s WONC on iHeartRadio

North Central College’s student-run radio station WONC FM-89.1 began streaming live online via iHeartRadio.com and through the iHeartRadio mobile app on April 7.

WONC is one of only eight college radio stations in the United States the company chose to be part of its streaming services.

WONC now broadcasts to iHeartRadio’s expansive audience, which covers all of North America and includes an average of 48 million listeners every month. People can listen to WONC on tablets, computers, cellphones and many other mobile devices.

Users of iHeartRadio.com can search “WONC,” “college,” “pure rock” or “North Central College” on the site to find the station’s page, where listeners can instantly tune in to a live broadcast.

“It gives us tremendous potential,” says station manager Whitney Goodbred, a senior majoring in broadcast communication. “Before WONC was accepted to iHeartRadio, people listened primarily on their computer; now they can reach us at the palm of their hand and, of course, on the radio.”

North Central College assistant professor of broadcast communication John Madormo, the general manager of WONC, submitted a pitch to iHeartRadio describing the station’s content of pure rock, news, traffic and sports, Arbitron radio rating numbers and its many awards. iHeartRadio contacted Madormo the next day and said WONC was accepted and should “definitely” be part of the iHeartRadio family.

“I was excited because it’s such an exclusive group for college radio stations,” says Madormo. “You feel like you’re in the club.”

WONC has since purchased a computer for the studio that has a critical audio cord to enable the station’s content to be broadcast clearly over iHeartRadio and reach nationwide. The station’s bandwidth is endless and can be streamed constantly.