Our KOWS streaming app is moooving.
Beginning Wednesday, February 28, we are moving to a new app for streaming. This means that your KOWS app will no longer carry our broadcast. Instead, we will be streaming through the Radio Rethink app which you can download from the Apple App Store. Just visit the App Store and search for Radio Rethink. Or, you can install it on your iPhone now using this link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/radio-rethink/id6448702781
Radio Rethink is the ‘next wave’ of streaming radio, founded by volunteers in the Denver area with the goal of moving community and micro-community radio into the spotlight of the mobile media landscape. We’re excited to be a part of this vibrant radio eco-system which includes community radio brethren from around the country, including KMUD in Humboldt County, KVMR in Nevada City, WFMU, and Radio Free Brooklyn.
There are a number of reasons for the change, not least of which was the fact that we were being blocked outside of the US, UK and Canada with our previous carrier. With this new service, we will not have this geographic restriction and there are cost savings with this transition. Another of the many benefits of the move is that we will be able to share underwriter highlights from the app which, in addition to giving them more recognition, should aid in the recruitment of underwriters. There are also direct links to our ‘Donate Now’ button, schedule, and show pages. We’ll also be able to push out emergency notifications to listeners at any time.
For our listeners, it offers the following additional enhancements:
- Full schedule detail for the day
- The ability to look up an artist or host
- A direct link to the host show page
- In-app sharing on Facebook, X, or mail
- A direct link to our web page for donations/browsing
When you install Radio Rethink on your phone, there are a couple of ways you can ‘lock in’ KOWS as your default player. The app uses your GPS location which means that when you run Radio Rethink, and you’re in Sonoma County, KOWS should pop up at the top of the station list.
Once you open the app, there are a couple of ways to add KOWS radio to your mobile device:
- Follow the guided prompts to create a shortcut “Add to Home Screen” your phone.
- Or…. Make us a favorite. We’ll always come up.
Radio Rethink does not yet support Android but users can navigate to the link, tap the menu icon (3 dots in upper right-hand corner) and tap Add to home screen.
Older iPhones can still install the web page shortcut running Safari and sharing “Add To Home Screen” as illustrated below.
You will need to remove the old KOWS app from your phone. The Radio Rethink KOWS streaming app, however, is available to you now.
For desktop computers, there will be a new Radio Rethink player. You can sample it by clicking on the link below:
https://www.radiorethink.com/listen/kows/
We will be changing the KOWS Listen page to access the new link although you can preview it now by visiting the KOWS Listen page.