Astro Radio in tie-up with Waze
By Digital News Asia June 16, 2014
- Malaysia is a Top 5 Waze community with two million active users
- Merging traditional media with social networks and crowdsourced content
![Astro Radio in tie-up with Waze Astro Radio in tie-up with Waze](/sites/default/files/images/digital%20economy/KL%20Traffic.jpg)
ASTRO Radio has announced a partnership with Waze, saying it was the first local radio station to use the mobile app to bridge traditional media with social networks and crowdsourced content to augment radio traffic reporting.
“Millions of Malaysians spend a significant amount of time on the roads battling peak hour traffic for their daily commute, not to mention the congestion issues we face on the highways during school holidays and festive ‘balik kampung’ period,” said Astro Radio chief executive officer Jake Abdullah.
“Our partnership with Waze is a perfect example of using technology to help improve the lives of our listeners,” he said in a statement issued by his company.
Waze is a free globally crowdsourced application currently available on the iPhone, Android and Windows Phone platforms, Astro Radio said in its statement.
Waze incorporates real-time GPS (global positioning system) data from its growing base of more than 50 million users and delivers highly accurate and useful traffic and navigation information.
Drivers can select the fastest route with turn-by-turn directions and voice navigation in local languages, taking into account current road conditions. Passengers are encouraged to edit maps with details like road construction and traffic accidents.
Waze has more than two million active users in the country, according to Astro Radio. Malaysia ranks among the Top 5 largest Waze communities out of the nearly 200 countries it serves.
Waze and Astro Radio launched daily traffic updates across all nine Astro Radio-operated radio stations in April. These are hitz fm, Mix fm, Era, My FM, Lite FM, Sinar, Melody FM, THR Raga and THR Gegar FM.
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