ASIA

Xperi has launched a new service that can deliver high quality rich content to listeners’ dashboards and give new insights for programmers into how people are using radio in cars.Speaking at Radiodays Europe, Joe D’Angelo and Desmond Fuller unveiled DTS AutoStage, which “unleashes the power of audio through UX and analytics.” It also puts radio back into a strong position again as auto manufacturers make plans for enhanced entertainment options in autonomous driving cars.Xperi has been working on the rich car radio experience for some time, and has now moved into the second stage of the project by releasing an analytics platform for radio managers and programmers to see how their listeners are using their station while driving.It only tracks car radio usage, but is one more piece in the puzzle for managers as they seek to understand their audiences better. Combined with rich data gathered from mobile apps and market survey data, this new service will give more insights about audience listening habits while commuting.The service works with connected cars that have integrated the Xperi DTS Autostage platform into their dashboard system. It gives drivers and passengers a richer experience by adding related events, interactivity, artist notes, logos, cover art and more to the radio station display. Data is able to be added by presenters or content directors in real time from a portal at the radio station.“This is a global solution,” D’Angelo told conference delegates. “Participation in the platform is free to broadcasters… the company monetises the service by charging car makers a licence fee to use it. We are expanding rapidly within the auto industry.”The service is being expanding to more and more car brands across the world and now serves over 90,000 different radio stations in 147 countries. A BMW with the Xperi enabled dashboard is on display at the conference.Fuller, one of the architects of the system, explained that the broadcaster portal gives editorial control of content and access to audience data. “You can see when and where people are listening and what they are listening to.”“We’ve been working in the car radio space for over 20 years. We saw what was happening in the dash and decided we are uniquely placed to help the radio industry compete with big tech’s attack on the car’s multimedia dashboard… Big Data has changed every industry, why should radio be left behind.”DTS Autostage allows stations to offer a consistent user experience to the “previously lalacklustre radio interface on the car dashboard.”From the programmer’s point of view, the most significant elements are the heat map, which can show you where your listeners are when they are driving around with your radio station on…and the time of day graph, which can pinpoint on a daily basis when your listeners are listening to your station in their cars.Data is available on a daily basis within 24 hours. Given the potential for tracking, the DTS Autostage service has had to proceed carefully to navigate all the appropriate privacy laws in different countries and is now compliant with regulations across the world.The company asks three things of broadcasters who want to take part in the platform:• Permission• A Streaming URL• Live data such as song playing and metadata from playout system“We are now able to prove to programmers, advertisers and agencies that there is still high degrees of listening to radio in cars… digital migration is taking place in front of your eyes.”In preparation for autonomous driving, car makers are becoming proactive about how they offer a richer user interface to people in autonomous cars. “This will hopefully keep radio ahead of the competitive curve,” said Fuller.[embedded content]
Some of the car brands currently using Autostage are shown below. More information here. […]

“We use AI in our programming, but the power of radio lies in it’s strength to be a friend… I don’t think AI can do that,” said James Rea Director of Broadcasting and Content at Global.He also predicted that with smart speakers, “there’s currently nothing to protect radio’s prominence, legislation is needed to make sure radio’s position is protected online.”From his future predictions of trends in the industry to more recent achievements at iHEART, where the changes he implemented made the station brighter and hotter, he discussed his career and gave insights into his strategies. The breakfast team is now the leading show and this is the leading station in the market.His podcast strategy involved hiring BBC presenters as podcasters, turning this endeavour into a massive commercial success, due to the massive marketing push across all stations. He finds podcasting exciting, because it brings new audiences and because creativity is involved in the process of making podcasts.Earlier in his career he transitioned to news management, which lead to a move from GMG to Global. He was offered a job running LBC a talk station (marking it’s 50th year), and turned it around from a station that couldn’t make a profit to one that currently makes $3.5 million. He and his team worked on giving the station a core identity and set the news agenda, plus encouraged presenters such as James O’Brien to have an opinion. The second thing was to elevate the callers to centre stage. The third thing was to televise radio and turn around clips so they were then able to lead on news stories. James began his career as a 16 year old enthusiastic lover of radio and has made a huge impact in the commercial radio sector. His success comes down to, “strong partnerships and collaboration with a good team allows us to go from 0-100 just like that!” […]

In a session this morning at RadioDays Europe, Iram Ansari, Diversity Advisor and Manager of Multicultural diversity at Norway’s National broadcaster NRK, outlined the project she administers, called Talent Group NRK FleRe.The project has successfully increased the multicultural competence in the workforce and diversity in stories reported at NRK. The success of the 10 month program is measured by the number of graduates who are employed, 50% at NRK and a further 30% in commercial stations. Because of the initiative, the national and commercial sectors are reflecting more multicultural stories.From 290 applicants the last in-take of 10 program participants were selected, all possessing the multicultural competencies of language skills, perspective on society, access to new networks that are otherwise not inthe broadcasters’ usual contact list.Ansari, whose family is from Pakistan, was a former graduate of this program and used her skills in Urdu and cultural knowledge during the terrorist attack in Pakistan, August 2019. She was the only journalist who got access to report on the attack, one week ahead of other journalists. She was also able to secure an exclusive interview with the hero who held down the attacker for half an hour until the police arrived.Her language and cultural background also allowed her access to former Pakistan President Imran Khan and a number of other major stories.“Multicultural competence is needed in the workforce to maintain diversity in stories,” said Ansari.A tip for all journalists is to keep a well organised list of contacts of multicultural experts in their fields and offer them media training to increase their effectiveness as a source. […]

EBU Director General Noel Curren urged the industry to challenge those who portray radio as ‘legacy media.’He told the Radiodays Europe conference:“We need to resist this positioning from others towards us. It doesn’t reflect the dynamism of radio. 84% of Europeans still listen to radio, three quarters of those are young poeple.“Radio is the most widely consumed and trusted medium… a hard earned relevance that has been hard won, we should protect it.“We need to emphasise radio’s dynamism. The strongest growing demographic for spoken word audio is 13-24 year olds, so young people are still listening to radio and are listening to spoken word content.“In a world where young people are increasingly getting news from social media, radio has a unique opportunity to transfer the extraordinary trust it has into the social media space… Podcasts can offer the solution-based journalism that young people can engage with.“Radio has come into its own in recent years… anyone who forgot this got a daily wake up call from the front lines of covid and Ukraine to remind them of the relevance and trustworthyness of radio.“It is not a dying medium… yes we have a legacy, but we also have a dynamic future… we can leverage our legacy into the online audio world.He urged people who work in radio to believe in the ability of radio’s talented presenters, producers and teams to adapt and innovate to ensure that the medium continues successfully into the next 100 years.[embedded content] […]

EBU Director General Noel Curren urged the industry to challenge those who portray radio as ‘legacy media.’He told the Radiodays Europe conference:“We need to resist this positioning from others towards us. It doesn’t reflect the dynamism of radio. 84% of Europeans still listen to radio, three quarters of those are young poeple.“Radio is the most widely consumed and trusted medium… a hard earned relevance that has been hard won, we should protect it.“We need to emphasise radio’s dynamism. The strongest growing demographic for spoken word audio is 13-24 year olds, so young people are still listening to radio and are listening to spoken word content.“In a world where young people are increasingly getting news from social media, radio has a unique opportunity to transfer the extraordinary trust it has into the social media space… Podcasts can offer the solution-based journalism that young people can engage with.“Radio has come into its own in recent years… anyone who forgot this got a daily wake up call from the front lines of covid and Ukraine to remind them of the relevance and trustworthyness of radio.“It is not a dying medium… yes we have a legacy, but we also have a dynamic future… we can leverage our legacy into the online audio world.He urged people who work in radio to believe in the ability of radio’s talented presenters, producers and teams to adapt and innovate to ensure that the medium continues successfully into the next 100 years.[embedded content] […]

“Radio is the mothership of the audio industry,” said Stefan Moller, the President of the Association of European Broadcasters, to a round of applause at the official opening of RadioDays Eueope.Getting straight to the point, Edita Kudlacova, the ABU’s Head of Radio named some of the most important battle grounds for radio in the evolving media environment:
Radio should be easy to find on any device.
We will need to be very transparent with how we use date.
Data must be everywhere, on air, online and on podcasts.
Commercial and non commercial radio companies have to work together to make sure that radio is a first thought for everyone.
Stefan Moller added to the list of important issues for radio:
Media freedom
Easy access to radio on any device
Fair competition – radio is a regulated medium, but others online media platforms are not
Copyright
Unfair advertising restrictions
“There are many challenges, but also many possibilities as radio moves into the future.“We are in the middle of an audio revolution… the content will be fine, we know how to do that, but we must be able to be found on every audio platform… Radio rules, it is the mother ship of audio!”Richard Dawkins president of Bauer Media group, tackled the question, ‘How do we strengthen Radio reach and credibility in times of unprecedented change?’“Amongst all complexities we must never loose sight of an industry that brings joy, by combining the old and mastering the new. “We need to keep our focus on customer-centricity. More than 80% of European populations invite us into their homes, cars and workplaces as new friends… we must engage, listen and respond, to understand their needs. We can do that by combining artistry and data in this new environment.”Radio companies have solid fundamentals:
Creativity, which allows us to combine new content and new platforms
Trust and reliability…  no fake news
Purpose and connection to community
Cultural enrichment… supporting culture, music, etc
Effectiveness
Innovation… we are living the digital future
“We are keeping one eye and one ear on the fundamentals and the other on the future,” said Dawkins.Fighting back tears, Andriy Taranov, from the Ukrainian Public Broadcaster Suspilne Movlennya received a standing ovation from the audience.At last year’s Radiodays Conference, he and a colleague spoke via zoom from a bunker, where they were continuing to broadcast while under attack from Russian forces. This year he was present in person in Prague to deliver a keynote speech.He thanked the world’s radio community for their support during the past year. “I wish I had a much more boring life and that I was not here… but since I am here I would like to offer my thanks to you all for your support during the war.”[embedded content] […]