14 DAY TRIAL // Radionomy has officially announced that it reached an agreement with AOL to purchase both Winamp and Shoutcast, in a move that will finally see our beloved multimedia player saved from the death.
AOL initially planned to discontinue Winamp and the adjacent services on December 20, 2013, but according to rumors that reached the web in late 2013, the company was also negotiating with several investors a potential deal to sell the multimedia player.
Belgium online radio service Radionomy confirmed that it purchased Winamp and Shoutcast, both of which will be used to increase its presence in the United States.
“Winamp is a top independent player that gives millions of people the best player functionality available,” said Alexandre Saboundjian, CEO, Radionomy Group. “Its role is clear in the future evolution of online media – we plan to make the player ubiquitous, developing new functionalities dedicated to desktop, mobile, car systems, connected devices and all other platforms.”
While the terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed, Radionomy claims that Winamp has been already included in its offering, so it now provides users with more than 60,000 Internet radio stations, playback for 60 audio and video formats, 6,000 add-ons, such as skins and plug-ins, support for 16 languages, and several tools for managing podcast subscriptions.
“Radionomy has always focused on creating a unique platform for any radio broadcaster or pure player that enables them to build a large audience and monetize their stream,” said Saboundjian. “With Shoutcast, we have expanded our reach to include roughly half of the world's online radio streaming, leaving Radionomy well-positioned to change the face of online radio.”
AOL hasn’t commented too much on its decision to sell Winamp, but there’s no doubt that users worldwide will be pleased with this announcement, especially because the multimedia player remains one of the most popular software solutions of its kind in the entire world.