So long, CES. Hello, Slingshot.
In this post, we’d like to give you all a little recap of NextRadio’s showing at CES and give a quick overview of a new offering. The idea of FM radio as a technology innovation, recently catapulted by our Pogie Award, was an overarching theme at CES this year. It’s never felt more comfortable to be radio folks sitting in the middle of CES’s vanguard, and the reception was motivating.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Over 124,000 app downloads
- Over 6,400 FM radio stations tuned to from the app
- Over 78,000 hours of listening through NextRadio
- A 4.2/5.0 Google Play Store user rating
We think there was a good boost coming off of the show, which we’ll talk more about in a moment, but we’re always pushing for better and more. We’re hoping the information in the next section will help make it even easier to participate in the NextRadio movement.
INTRODUCING TAGSTATION® SLINGSHOT
In an effort to break down every barrier to entry we can for stations getting on board with TagStation, we’ve created a datacasting software solution especially for NextRadio. We call it Slingshot, and it’s a simple piece of software that connects your station’s automation system to TagStation for enhanced data delivery to NextRadio-enabled devices.
We’ve worked very hard to partner with automation system and middleware providers to make sure that the playout systems you already have in place at your stations can be utilized to deliver data through TagStation to NextRadio. Included in those great partnerships are TRE, PADapult, Center Stage Live, Jumpgate, and Wide Orbit Automation for Radio. But in the situation where supported systems are not already in place, we’re working with you to make sure additional purchases aren’t necessary to get started by providing this specialized middleware link to NextRadio. It’s easy to install, and works with your current playout system. Best of all, it’s included (if needed) with your TagStation license. Contact us for more information about it. If supported systems were an issue with your participation before, we look forward to talking about getting up and running now!
Click here to download an informational PDF with a little more technical detail.
CES WRAP-UP
Did you see us at CES this month? Thanks to our friends at iBiquity, we had a nice space to demo in the HD Radio booth this year, and boy, did we demo! In the spirit of FM Radio as a technology innovation, CES enabled us to reach three main audiences in Las Vegas:
Consumers were able to test drive the NextRadio app, and there was a terrific level of interest and curiosity from other consumer device and app makers on partnerships or integration to improve their own distribution.
Broadcasters were able to visualize the potential of enhancing their own programming content through TagStation by tuning into some participating local stations in Vegas. And a presentation alongside Mark Yarkosky from Sprint at the NABRTC helped to spell out the case for more involvement in delivering enhanced content to the app.
Automotive industry interest was the most impressive. We performed smartphone app and emulated dash demos to countless manufacturers, brands, and OEMs. And the link between the enhanced broadcast displayed on the smartphone and subsequently the dash, proved immediately compelling to those audiences.
In an interview with Buzz Knight at CES, Ford was asked where broadcasters need to be thinking when it comes to radio’s space in the connected car. They mention the NextRadio proof of concept through their Applink system:
“Those are pretty interesting experiences that are created by joining the connected car with traditional terrestrial radio using the smartphone. So we’re pretty excited about researching those, enabling those through proof of concepts, and helping take them to production as well… so keeping traditional AM/FM radio really fresh, creating new experiences – those that’ll benefit customers – and build a stronger industry overall.”
– Jim Buczkowski, Director of Electrical and Electronics Systems, Ford
More exciting interviews and coverage from the show included the BBC, RAB, and others. We can’t get enough of these two videos in particular: Tat Wza from In Flex We Trust’s interview here, and John Potter’s RAB coverage here.
MOVING FORWARD
Let’s talk phones. There are now about a million smartphones on the market that have the ability to run NextRadio. That’s a lot of potential users/listeners, right? But about 400,000 of those were sold before NextRadio’s launch. So Sprint is working with us now to try to activate those users by sending what’s known as “push notifications”. These alerts will target those pre-launch phones with FM capability and urge them to download and try out NextRadio. We expect to see a nice spike in downloads as a result. So let’s work on getting those stations ready, shall we?
Also, the new NextRadio-enabled Moto G is now available from boostmobile.com and starting today, is also available in stores! We have another Boost offering coming up at the end of the month, so stay tuned for that.
We look forward to chatting with you again in a couple of weeks. Stay warm and safe in these polar vortices!
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