Industry News

The annual TechSurvey from Jacobs Media measures the amount of change in the tech space and its impact on radio broadcasters, and the dashboard in connected cars is the 500 pound gorilla in the room.  

Experts say the technology in the car dashboard is quickly changing and so are driver preferences. Car buyers are putting a higher premium on car tech like Bluetooth, large display screens and Smartphone aux connections, along with a taste for media operating systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Automotive. 

Broadcasters and non-broadcast companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon are working with car manufacturers to maximize their presence in the mediascape of the connected car, according to those familiar with developments. And car makers are looking at all options in order to monetize the dashboard. 

About 12% of TechSurvey respondents say they plan to purchase or lease a new vehicle in 2022 despite much higher new car costs. That percentage has held fairly steady the past four years, said Fred Jacobs, president of Jacobs Media, but what new car buyers are looking for is changing.

Bluetooth has now surpassed FM radio as the most important feature among new car buyers, Jacobs said on a webinar last week highlighting sections of the latest annual survey. 

Americans are placing a higher premium on technology because it keeps them connected and productive, even in the car, experts say. The car has become a Smartphone on wheels if you will.

“For the first time ever the most important feature for those planning to make a new vehicle purchase, participating in our survey, Bluetooth has surpassed radio. (Bluetooth) is up three points and FM radio was down four points. Connectivity is becoming very important,” Jacobs said.

Having an AM radio is a desired feature for only 33% of respondents planning to purchase a new car, according to TS 2022.

And hitting a new high, eight in 10 respondents with a Smartphone can now connect the device in their car, an especially popular feature for younger consumers participating in the latest survey. 

“These content monsters, as we call the younger generation, are far more likely to connect their Smartphone to the car for content,” Jacobs said. 

The good news for AM/FM radio is that actual in-car consumption of the service is still number one at 56% followed by SiriusXM (19%) and personal music from a Smartphone (9%). “Surprisingly, streaming audio is only at 6%, but remember we are dealing with an older audience (participating in TechSurvey) by and large,” Jacobs said. 

But Jacobs points out on the TechSurvey webcast the trend of AM/FM radio listening in the car continues to erode falling from 62% in the 2018 survey project to 56% in TS 2022. 

“Overall people are listening to less AM/FM radio in the car. More people are using full blown media systems like the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep UConnect, Ford Sync, Audi Connect,” Jacobs said, “and that tends to erode radio listening.”

In fact, when you examine the survey data and weight it for those respondents who have a “Connected System” in the car, AM/FM radio listening shrinks to only 47%.

This is the last in a series of stories exploring the results from TechSurvey 2022. Click here to read part five.

The post TechSurvey 2022: The Car is Getting Crowded appeared first on Radio World.

From its latest string of new hires, StreamGuys brings on Megan Killion as its vice president of sales and marketing, a newly-created position.

In this new role, Killion will “develop strategic initiatives that build a stronger sales culture across the organization, with an emphasis on driving new business and increasing close rates,” according to a company press release. She will report to StreamGuys President Kiriki Delany.

Killion brings 15 years of B2B technology sales and marketing experience to StreamGuys, having already formed professional ties with the company through past roles.

Said roles include executive positions at CacheFly, a CDN network where she served as vice president of strategic sales and marketing, as well as at her own MKC Agency, where she worked with StreamGuys on branding and outbound marketing initiatives.

“These experiences, along with previous similar positions [at] Ericsson UDN and long-term consultancies with Mutable, Reblaze, and StackPath, provide Megan with a broad knowledge of the technology infrastructure that StreamGuys excels in across the CDN, cloud, edge computing and streaming universe,” said the company.

“More importantly, she knows how to translate product and technology language into sales success for new and existing clients, and move successful companies like StreamGuys into lucrative new markets.”

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In the announcement, Killion said one of her goals is to help StreamGuys better market their existing services and find ways to better support customers.

“My experience working in the technology space suggests that few companies really understand why they need both a strong sales culture and engineering vision,” said Killion. “StreamGuys has both excellent sales and engineering teams in place, and they work very hard to service their customers and deliver on the technology promises they make. I am excited to bring these operations even closer together.”

The post StreamGuys Expands Executive Team with First VP of Sales and Marketing appeared first on Radio World.

With the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election’s official results determined on November 8, 2020, financial markets promptly roared in approval on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Among the company’s starting their COVID-19 induced slumps on Wall Street was Audacy Inc., formerly Entercom.

Things looked good for Audacy, at first. Then came the Ides of March. Since then, Audacy shares have slumped. On Thursday (5/19), they dipped again, reaching a fresh year-to-date low.

In fact, Audacy’s share growth since the election of Joe Biden as U.S. President has been erased.

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The latest ratings report from the Radio Joint Audience Research body (RAJAR) in charge of measuring radio audiences across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is out. For iHeartMedia interloper Global, the first quarter of 2022 data was a bright one, as the company touted its national and London performances for spoken word LBC and Hot Adult Contemporary Heart, in addition to Top 40 Capital and Adult Contemporary Smooth.

Audio consultant Matt Deegan took a close look at the entire report. And, in a blog post made early Thursday, he made note of a big new trend — smart speaker consumption of radio. There’s much to take away for U.S. broadcasters, in particular the age of the typical smart speaker user.

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A lay apostolate with broadcast signals in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming, has agreed to part ways with a radio station serving Bismarck and its FM translator licensed to Williston, N.D.

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Richard Dawkins has been promoted to president of audio for Bauer Media Group. He will now lead the company’s audio business and “take advantage of the opportunities ahead,” per a press release making the announcement.

Dawkins joined Bauer Media Group as chief operating officer of audio in 2019. “This role saw him focus on new opportunities for the business and maximise the performance of its operations through new launches, commercial opportunities and introducing new ways of working,” said Bauer.

Prior to that role, he spent more than a decade at the BBC in a variety of senior roles, most recently as chief operating officer of BBC Content.

Yvonne Bauer, owner and CEO of Bauer Media Group, said Dawkins has already added “enormous value” to the company. “I look forward to starting a new era for Bauer Media Audio,” she said.

Dawkins succeeds Paul Keenan, who joins the company’s executive board as the new chief operating officer.

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Bauer has operations across eight countries in Europe, representing various radio and audio brands including The Voice in Denmark, Radio Nova in Finland and numerous companies in the U.K.

“This is a brilliant opportunity to lead a fantastic team and a strong business with our reach already exceeding 57 million weekly listeners,” said Dawkins.

The post Bauer Media Group Promotes Dawkins to President of Audio appeared first on Radio World.

LOS ANGELES — She is a five-decade veteran of Warner Bros. Television. As of today, she’s now serving as EVP of Ad Sales for AMG Global Syndication, an arm of Byron Allen‘s Allen Media Group.

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It is being described as “one of the industry’s first transitional platform approaches,” one that maximizes dynamic advertising potential for television providers by inserting targeted ads simultaneously on both linear and connected streams.

Introducing the Parity ADS Platform, courtesy of Viamedia. The platform, which seeks to maximize live streams for IP-delivered distribution, can insert regionally targeted ads on linear streams ad the same time as on spot cable, thus providing a match to the local ads running on traditional cable TV systems.

The timing is intriguing, as reports show the scatter market down some 30% over the past four years as NewFronts and Upfronts conclude for 2022-2023.

And, it is a further indication that melding IPTV with traditional cable TV will help advertisers reach a bigger audience, in particular in a world where cord-cutting is not slowing down.

“Our new Parity ADS Platform is one of the industry’s first transitional approaches and introduces the immediate next step to achieving fully dynamic advertising,” Viamedia President/CEO David Solomon said. “This presents an enormous opportunity for our MVPD partners around the country to essentially turn their linear inventory into connected TV (CTV) inventory, all while better serving their local communities, businesses and advertisers.”

He added, “The industry is beginning to catch on to the benefits of a parity approach. As subscribers are transitioned to streaming, there’s often not enough impressions to sell independently. By replicating the same ad on two platforms, MVPDs are able to optimize linear and CTV feeds for advertisers, maximizing inventory and ad sales during the migration. This system is specifically developed to drive greater demand and value for existing advertising inventory.”

Mobile devices and apps continue their strong growth trajectory, according to TechSurvey 2022. The annual survey of core radio listeners by Jacobs Media shows radio station apps are playing a larger role among those who listen to streaming audio.

More than 90% of respondents to this year’s survey own a Smartphone, and those devices are playing a bigger role in how people stream radio stations, according to TechSurvey. 

“The number of radio listeners streaming audio from their P1 station’s website is going down. Meanwhile, more people are using that radio station’s mobile app to stream their audio,” said Fred Jacobs, president of Jacobs Media. “Mobile has in fact become more important.”

The most popular app among those respondents with a Smartphone, according to TechSurvey, is their P1 station’s mobile app, with 56% of respondent having downloaded it on their phone or tablet. The most popular apps list also includes YouTube (48%), Pandora (42%), Spotify (40%), iHeartRadio (32%) with TuneIn further down the list (11%).

The survey shows seven in 10 respondents have downloaded a radio or music app to their Smartphone, and those numbers range by age from a low of 40% (Greatest Generation) to a high of 89% (Gen Z).  

Growth of Smart Speakers, while still an important audio outlet, has flattened, according to TS 2022. Ownership of Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices ranked at 35% in TS 2022 with no growth in that percentage from the previous year.

“From our previous focus groups, when we have talked to folks about Smart Speakers and the reason why they haven’t bought one yet, most often the number one reason is privacy. They don’t like the idea of something listening to their private conversations,” Jacobs said. “Smart Speakers are gaining a reputation and image for being invasive from a privacy standpoint. And Google and Apple will have to figure out how to market around that issue.” 

For those survey respondents who already own a Smart Speaker, the use of it can be quite varied, but listening to music has two of the top three spot, according to TS 2022. The number one option for those who frequently use their device is streaming music (Pandora, Amazon Music, etc.) But in the top three is listening to an AM/FM radio station.    

“So when you think about AM/FM radios disappearing from the home and Smart Speakers appearing in the home, this is another great reason why radio stations need to be promoting their presence,” Jacobs said.   

Millenials listen to their P1 station on Smart Speaker about 8% of the time during a typical week. That number drops to 6% for Boomers, according to TS 2022.

Jacobs Media, whose Jācapps mobile app development company designs apps for radio stations, shares the full results with the 470 radio stations in the United States that participated in the survey.

This is the fifth in a series of stories examining the results from TechSurvey 2022. Click here to read part four.

The post TechSurvey 2022: Mobile Apps Still Gaining in Popularity appeared first on Radio World.

Quu Inc. has added two members to its management team.

Pete Benedetti was named EVP of revenue, while Lori Olsen becomes Quu’s administrative and contracts manager. The roles are new; both will report to CEO Steve Newberry.

Benedetti has a background in acquiring, owning and integrating radio stations. He is a NAB and CBA board member, and founder and CEO of AlwaysMountainTime, a role he’ll continue as Krista Benedetti is promoted to president and will oversee day-to-day operations for that company.

Olsen will manage Quu’s business relationships with its clients. She has worked in office and contract administration for Westwood One and Global Dial.

Quu is a technology that allows stations to add synced sales and programming messages called Visual Quus on vehicle dashboards.

[Related: “Quu, Xperi Expand Their Relationship”]

The post Quu Announces Two Hires appeared first on Radio World.