UBC closes deal to rescue Cliq

by Emma Barnett, Media Week 08-Jul-08, 10:35

LONDON - UBC Media Group is close to securing the future of its music download service Cliq after it secured a deal to offer the service via DAB radios manufactured by Imagination Technologies."

Last month, UBC announced it had closed the loss-making consumer-facing version of Cliq just six months after its launch.

The direct-to-consumer version had enabled users to download music from radios to their mobile phones at a cost of £1.25 a track.

The service was marketed through a partnership with The Carphone Warehouse and through radio advertising and viral marketing linked to 21 commercial radio stations.

A period of consultation followed, which has now finished, to establish whether UBC could instead provide a business-to-business music download service to makers of wi-fi digital radios.

Discussions are taking place with Imagination Technologies, the company behind Pure DAB radios, which could result in Cliq appearing exclusively on its devices in September.

A source close to UBC said: "It seems likely Cliq technology will appear on connected radios by September after the launch of several DAB wi-fi enabled devices to the market over the next few months."