7-8-14
Answering a question about the possibility of more consolidation, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan said he did not see too much activity on that front in the near future. "Our industry is challenged for capital. Multiples are slowly rising." Then Smulyan turned to the streaming side of business where he says radio needs to make more of an effort to regain its cool factor. "This industry generates a lot of cash flow. The Streaming industry attracts billions of dollars, yet it does not make any money. We need to change that perception. Our industry needs to be cool again." And Smulyan believes the catalyst to do that is NextRadio.
Smulyan says there have been 600,000 NextRadio activations and every radio company is now doing interactivity. That means radio companies are starting to use the app Emmis built to give the listener the kind of experience they've come to expect from streaming companies, album art, interactivity, social media connections to name a few. There is also a public campaign underway to promote the app with public radio (see story below) and another one will kick off later this summer at the NAB. Smulyan says NextRadio is the game-changer for radio. He expects every carrier to be on board at some point and for the app to be on every tablet, Dashboard and the clock radio's of the future.
(7/10/2014 8:23:21 AM)
Radio can become cool by becoming part of the community through active involvement and by giving people a reason to listen other than music (which, if you hadn't noticed, can be found through better delivery systems).
(7/10/2014 7:42:00 AM)
About 15 years ago, I listened as Jeff Smulyan spoke to members of the Radio Marketing Bureau in Canada. This was back in the days when consolidation was just beginning to gain momentum. Jeff's position was very unlike the other group heads and I was deeply impressed. I've paid attention to what Jeff has said ever since. Frankly, he's the main reason I'm keeping my eye on this NextRadio thing. He's correctwhen he says, "Radio needs to be cool again. But I the cool people of radio all got fired.
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