Emmis readies new way to put FM on phones

Story by Inside Radio

Emmis is in final beta-testing of a new smartphone app that would synchronize FM radio reception with corresponding visual and interactive elements in a new mobile experience. Dubbed NextRadio, Emmis says the receiver app for FM- and HD Radio-enabled smartphones is being readied for a 2013 launch on several smartphones and carrier networks.

Created in a partnership with iBiquity and endorsed by the NAB and the RAB, it’s part of a larger industry effort to put analog FM radio on the device that a growing number of Americans keep within arm’s reach. It would also update the listening experience to bring it in line with what consumers have become accustomed to on digital audio products. The app would let users scan their local dial or search by frequency or music format and save stations to their pre-sets. Users would experience a consistent presentation from all radio stations including station logo, frequency, channel, song and album title, artist name and cover art.

To succeed, Emmis needs to sell its smartphone ecosystem to two constituents. Broadcasters need to embrace TagStation, the cloud-based backbone that enables the interactive listening experience by transmitting station data via a wireless network or internet connection to smartphones and digital dashboards. Part of the pitch to broadcasters is the ability to make commercials interactive in real-time by supplementing their signals with a data back-channel that enables synchronized on-screen ads, UPC or QR coupon code ads, click-to-call and other calls-to-action. At a time when the industry is divided over the financial viability of online audio streaming, Emmis says “hybrid radio” would protect radio’s core broadcast distribution business model while adding streaming-like enhancements without costly royalty fees. It also would allow listeners to tune to local radio on their smartphone without using their data plan for pure internet streaming.

But the bigger challenge may be selling wireless companies on the benefits of installing or activating chips and integrating them with the NextRadio app. “The wireless industry is responding positively to the innovation TagStation and NextRadio combine to deliver,” Emmis CTO Paul Brenner says. “For the radio industry to captivate the imagination of smartphone users and cellular carriers, broadcasters must innovate and deliver a superior and consistent user experience.