Emmis Sees ‘Significant Opportunity’ for NextRadio in Connected Car, Smart Speakers
The NextRadio FM-listening smartphone app is enjoying a “very good” Q4, between Samsung’s agreement to unlock the FM chips in its Galaxy phones and JVCKenwood’s CES announcement adopting NextRadio for the connected car, said Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan on an earnings call.
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Select JVCKenwood aftermarket car audio head units shipping early in 2018 will use the NextRadio for WebLink software platform licensed from Emmis and Abalta Technologies, said the CES announcement. “NextRadio for WebLink enables drivers in any vehicle to have a rich in-dash AM/FM radio listening experience by connecting a smartphone to a compatible WebLink-enabled car head unit, which requires minimal smartphone data and battery usage.”
Samsung’s agreement to unlock the FM chips in its smartphones makes it the fourth OEM to do so, following Alcatel, LG and Motorola, said a Tuesday NextRadio announcement. Apple remains the biggest NextRadio holdout, refusing to activate the FM chips in its iPhones, even under pressure from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1711220041).
Emmis is “very excited” about JVCKenwood’s decision to adopt NextRadio for the connected car, said Smulyan Thursday. The company also is very excited about its partnership with Xperi, parent of DTS and HD Radio, “as we work with the industry to come up with a solution to connected cars,” he said.
Smart speakers for the home and for the connected car are a big market “opportunity” for radio in general and NextRadio in particular, said Smulyan. “The good news is, people listen to radio stations on their smart speakers,” he said. “The bad news is, they're probably not listening to clock radios anymore, and we all know the economic challenges of streaming audio as opposed to terrestrial audio.” The connected car is “a chance to enhance our brands,” building upon the “dominant position” radio has “had really since the late 1940s” as the preeminent information and entertainment source in the vehicle, he said: “We have a significant opportunity.”
On Samsung’s agreement to unlock the FM chip in all its smartphone models, the decision applies not only to the U.S. and Canada but also “throughout Latin America,” and Emmis is “very encouraged,” said Smulyan. “We've also had another major prepaid wireless carrier in the United States that will preload NextRadio on its devices starting in Q1,” he said, not identifying the carrier.
Through the NextRadio app, “measured listening in Latin America, we think, will grow quite significantly as a sharp increase in FM-enabled phones now enters all over” that market, said Smulyan. “Data attribution, we think, is the economic key for not only NextRadio but for our industry.” Emmis is “continuing to work on our data evaluation agreement with Nielsen,” he said. “There are more and more fascinating things happening with NextRadio.”