Content Linking Multicast Streaming for Broadcast Radio

An apparatus comprising:

• a network interface unit configured to communicate with a network;
• and
• a processor coupled to the network interface unit and configured to perform operations for a connected radio service associated with broadcast radio stations, including:
• receiving cellular network information and audio stream information from multiple client radios over wireless data connections with the multiple client radios;
• upon determining that the multiple client radios are all simultaneously accessing a same unicast audio stream associated with a particular broadcast radio station among the broadcast radio stations over a same cellular network based on the cellular network information and the audio stream information, configuring the same cellular network to convert the same unicast audio stream to a multicast audio stream;
• and
• upon receiving a multicast address for the multicast audio stream from the same cellular network, sending the multicast address to the multiple client radios over the wireless data connections to enable the multiple client radios to access the multicast audio stream.

A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor of a connected radio service associated with broadcast radio stations, causes the processor to perform:

• receiving cellular network information and audio stream information from multiple client radios over wireless data connections with the multiple client radios;
• upon determining that the multiple client radios are all simultaneously accessing a same unicast audio stream associated with a particular broadcast radio station among the broadcast radio stations over a same cellular network based on the cellular network information and the audio stream information, commanding a transcoder in the same cellular network to convert the same unicast audio stream to a multicast audio stream;
• and
• upon receiving a multicast address for the multicast audio stream from the transcoder, sending the multicast address to the multiple client radios over the wireless data connections to enable the multiple client radios to access the multicast audio stream.