CHICAGO, July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Fans of Christian
radio now have a brand new way to experience the faith-based
programming they love. Educational Media Foundation (EMF), owner of
the nation's leading contemporary Christian brands
K-LOVE® and Air1®, will begin using
TagStation® data services to deliver interactive content
to NextRadio®-enabled FM smartphones. The move will give
its over 21 million weekly listeners an even better way to connect
with their favorite stations.
NextRadio is a smartphone app that connects over-the-air FM
broadcasts with the internet to give users an enhanced radio
listening experience including album art, program information, and
station feedback with the touch of a button. Other available points
of interaction using a smartphone's built-in features include
calendaring, find nearby, text messaging, visit website, and more.
The NextRadio app is currently available for use with 16 different
types of smartphones on the Sprint Network, including the HTC One
M8 smartphone that works on all major wireless carrier
networks.
TagStation is the cloud-based data service that allows radio
stations to synchronize their audio radio broadcasts with images,
interactive touch points and other data to create visual displays
of album art, advertising and other interactive features on the
NextRadio app (NextRadioApp.com), HD Radio® Artist
Experience (hdradio.com), and connected car dashboards currently in
development.
"All of us at K-LOVE are excited about being on the NextRadio
app," said Mike Novak, President and
CEO of the K-LOVE & Air1 Radio Networks. "Our listeners
will now be able to listen to K-LOVE using a tenth of their data
and get up to 3 times better battery life. Special thanks to
our friends at Sprint, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile smartphones
as well as HTC One M8 for stepping up and partnering with K-LOVE.
Look for us on your smartphone... on the NextRadio app."
EMF joins a unified radio industry effort to provide a
consistent presentation of broadcast radio on the smartphone with
visual displays and interactivity that puts it on par with what
today's music lovers expect on connected devices, elevating the
over-the-air radio listening experience to something truly
immersive. With so many music-listening options available,
broadcast radio is seizing this opportunity to surpass
expectations.
"The Educational Media Foundation's K-LOVE and Air1 stations
bring great content additions to the NextRadio app. Consumers
listen longer to FM radio when they see images that engage them.
Their listeners will benefit from an entirely new way to enjoy the
stations they love," said Paul
Brenner who leads the TagStation effort for Emmis. "We are
excited that EMF has made the commitments necessary to help
revitalize the portable FM radio and build up the interactivity
consumers expect."
By adding mobile interactivity to its 390 main FM signals, EMF
joins an impressive list of major radio groups who see the
innovation of FM-enabled smartphones as an efficient way to reach
their listeners on the devices they carry every day. The K-LOVE and
Air1 set-up processes are complete, and they have begun delivering
enhanced visual content, giving their positive message even more
reach and depth to audiences across the
United States.
For information about licensing TagStation data services,
contact Libby Hiple:
ehiple@tagstation.com.
About Educational Media Foundation
The Educational Media Foundation's mission is to create compelling
media that inspires and encourages you to have a meaningful
relationship with Christ. EMF's contemporary Christian radio
brands, K-LOVE® and Air1®, are non-denominational, non-profit,
listener-supported radio networks with over 400 radio signals in 44
states and can also be heard online at klove.com and air1.com.
About TagStation, LLC
TagStation, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emmis
Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: EMMS). TagStation, LLC in a
partnership with NAB Labs has developed the NextRadio® smartphone
app which provides a rich FM radio listening experience on a
smartphone using a combination of the smartphone's built-in FM
tuner and the internet. It has also developed TagStation®, the
cloud-based data service for enhanced radio broadcasting through HD
Radio's Artist Experience® and the NextRadio smartphone app.
Founded in 2013, TagStation, LLC is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN with offices in Indianapolis and Chicago, IL. For more information about
TagStation®, visit TagStation.com.
SOURCE Emmis Communications