INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmis
Communications (Nasdaq: EMMS) and TagStation, LLC unveil
groundbreaking updates to NextRadio® smartphone app at
RAB/NAB Radio Show.
Imagine turning on your radio and being able to see what's
playing on all your local stations at that exact moment. You see
your favorite song, click on it, and are instantly hearing its live
broadcast. Tuning to the radio content you want to hear is now that
simple with NextRadio's new Live Guide. Much like the days before
caller ID on your telephone, blindly searching the radio dial will
soon be a thing of the past.
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 and program information as
well as station feedback and other interactive features with the
touch of a button. The NextRadio app is currently available for use
with 27 different devices on the Sprint Network, as well as new HTC
smartphones on all major wireless carrier networks.
Live Guide, a first-of-its-kind visual tuning interface that
displays local station choices by real-time album art or custom
schedule content, is just one of several major improvements to the
NextRadio app which will be available to the public in mid-to-late
October.
Other exciting enhancements include a streamlined navigation
drawer that puts all user options in one easy-to-find place as well
as in-app tutorials showing listeners how to interact with their
local stations, a behavior change that can grow radio's position in
the exploding mobile ad business. Dynamically-driven related
content "cards" will accompany station songs and programming events
to provide the listener with more information about the live
broadcast while providing the station with extended advertiser and
promotion options. These may include upcoming concerts, record
release dates, recently played, next up on-air, and more. All of
this, along with improved frequency locating accuracy, is sure to
make the radio listening experience easier, more immersive, and
more enjoyable.
"From the beginning of NextRadio and TagStation we have
looked for ways to make the broadcast radio experience consistent
with today's listeners' expectations for consuming media and
entertainment. Anyone that looks at this major update to NextRadio
immediately relates with Live Guide and active Card Stacks in
making broadcast radio cool again." said Paul Brenner, Senior Vice President of
TagStation "I am proud of what our creative and talented team
has accomplished, and everyone in radio should be proud to show off
NextRadio as a new way to listen to radio."
TagStation® is the cloud-based data service that
allows radio stations to synchronize their broadcasts with images,
interactive touch points, and other related data for display in the
NextRadio app (NextRadioApp.com), HD Radio® Artist
Experience (hdradio.com), and connected car dashboards currently in
development.
With this new release of NextRadio and its pioneering ability
for listeners to visually navigate their station options, there has
never been a more imperative time for broadcasters to get up and
running on TagStation and ensure that their broadcast channels are
providing the best content possible. "The eyes of wireless
carriers, handset makers and regulators are watching to see if our
industry as a whole can deliver on something innovative. Consumers
are telling us that the visual content makes radio interesting
again," said Brenner.
For information about licensing TagStation data services,
contact Libby Hiple:
ehiple@tagstation.com.
For additional information and media to accompany this press
release, visit http://NextRadioApp.com/PressKit/
About TagStation, LLC and NextRadio®
TagStation, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emmis
Communications Corporation. TagStation, LLC has developed the
TagStation® service to provide radio stations with
artist and title information and unique interactivity with
listeners. With partial funding from NAB Labs, TagStation
also developed the NextRadio hybrid radio smartphone app which uses
TagStation cloud services to provide a rich FM radio listening
experience on smartphones and tablets by combining the devices'
built-in FM tuner and the internet. 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. For more information about
NextRadio, visit NextRadioApp.com.
SOURCE Emmis Communications