I'm excited to announce today that Public Radio International (PRI) has tapped NewsGator to syndicate their high quality content across the web through free widgets.  The premise behind this offering is that listeners increasingly find their radio online, so PRI -- with help from NewsGator -- decided to syndicate their content through viral widgets that serve up both audio and text headlines. These widgets capitalize on the fact that radio-related websites saw a 30% jump in visitors last year. 

If you're not familiar with PRI, they produce and distribute programs such as "The World," "The Takeaway," "This American Life," and also distributes news services like BBC World Service and Capitol News Connection.  In fact, PRI provides more than 400 hours of audio content each week, which is heard by 12 million listeners on over 800 public radio stations as well as online via streaming, podcasts and on-demand. 

The new viral widgets, which are available at http://www.pri.org/pri-widgets, feature an in-page audio player as well as headlines of PRI stories so listeners can freely embed them wherever across the social web they like: on web sites, blogs, social networks, and personalized start pages, for example.  These widgets were created to automatically to track usage volume as well as to allow PRI editors customize the widgets' look, feel and behavior through our Editor's Desk platform. 

The new PRI widgets are offered in three separate flavors:

• an Economic Security widget
• a Global Health & Development widget
• a Social Entrepreneurship widget [note: shown at right]

Also neat is the fact that other media organizations can co-brand the PRI widgets with their own logo upon request to PRI.  Headlines link back to the approved co-brander's site, increasing page views, time spent on site, and brand visibility.  In addition, there are no setup, hosting or licensing fees for co-branders. 

As Walker Fenton, GM of NewsGator Media & Consumer products, says, "PRI is the epitome of quality programming an exemplar of how premier content producers are expanding audience and consumer choice at the same time.  Media today is as much about reaching out to listeners where they are as attracting them to your station or site, and that's what NewsGator Widget Services help accomplish for our customers.

You can check out the new PRI widgets here or co-brand the widgets here.