For the last several years, you’ve heard us talk (OK, sometimes rant) about why the broadcasting and consumer electronics industries never seem to be on the same page, and often appear to be in conflict. Radio is consumer electronics, but that’s often been forgotten in the ongoing back-and-forth between these two mega categories.
Several years ago, the Consumer Electronics Association’s CEO, Gary Shapiro, and I became acquainted after I wrote a controversial blog post, “Buggy Whip, My Ass.” After speaking with Gary personally, and getting to know him better, he agreed to sit down with me for an interview at our Summit back in 2010, and it was a great session. Gary was not “anti-radio” and in fact, enjoyed the Summit and some of the passionate speakers about radio who preceded him that morning. His interview was thoughtful, honest, and entertaining for our attendees.
We have stayed in touch ever since as Paul and I have made the journey to his Consumer Electronics Shows these past few years. And at the Canadian Music Week conference this week, it turned out that Gary and I were both on the agenda. So we got together for dinner and reconnected on a lot of fronts.
One of the topics that came up over a great Italian meal was NextRadio. Gary had been more than a little outspoken against broadcast radio seeking legislation to mandate an FM chip in cellphones. Gary is a bootstraps guy who believes that business and industry should innovate their way out of trouble, so a government solution was not his idea of a viable path for broadcasters. So I told him about what Jeff Smulyan and Paul Brenner were doing with NextRadio and with Sprint, as well as the David Pogue thumbs-up at the NAB last month. And he listened. Intently.
So here’s the serendipitous part of the story. When we got back to the hotel after dinner, Jeff Smulyan (another featured speaker at CMW) was checking in. So I “carp diemed” it, so to speak, grabbed Jeff, reintroduced him to Gary, and a NextRadio demo ensued right in the lobby of the hotel.
Gary was impressed, took the photo on the left and tweeted it out that evening.
But the story doesn’t end there. Because the next morning, Gary kicked off CMW with a great keynote based on his Ninja Innovation book. And he explained why a “Ninja” approach to experimentation, effort, focus, relentlessness, and not being afraid to fail – and learn from that failure – is a key to innovation.
And then Gary made a turn, explaining that leadership is also about the ability to pivot and change your position when you get new data. In the middle of his speech, he gave a shout-out to Jeff Smulyan, and pronounced NextRadio as “an incredibly, elegant, beautiful way for broadcasters to get into portable devices seamlessly without costing the consumer…”
And Gary added, “I think (NextRadio) is terrific.” It was truly a shout-out for innovation.
But perhaps the underlying story behind the story is about change.
Gary went on to say, “I changed my view about it…and Jeff changed his business approach or his approach to a problem…”
You can watch this segment here where Gary also comments about HD Radio, and “driverless cars.”
>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH GARY SHAPIRO VIDEO<
Change is in the air.
And you have to be open enough, honest enough, and humble enough to accept that change.
We all could stand to do more of that, especially within the radio broadcasting industry, where change has become a constant – if we have the courage to face it. Our Techsurveys, and other studies like “Infinite Dial” are regular reminders that things aren’t what they used to be. With change can come adversity, but often opportunity. And as Gary reminded us, you have to review the data and change positions when it’s warranted. His speech at CMW was nothing short of courageous, transparent, and honest – and it resonated with everyone in attendance.
Gary’s remarks about cars at CMW foreshadow something very special, too. I am proud to tell you that he will be keynoting DASH in Detroit this October. He’ll bring his expertise from CES and the amazing experience it provides about the “connected car” to DASH attendees. And if you’ve ever seen Gary speak, you know that no punches will be pulled, and both the radio and automotive industries will get the straight shot.
As it should be.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
- Radio + Thanksgiving = Gratitude - November 27, 2024
- Is It Quittin’ Time For SiriusXM? - November 26, 2024
- Radio, It Oughta Be A Crime - November 25, 2024
Fred,
Thanks for continuing to be a great cheerleader for the industry. Your capturing of the highlights of Gary’s keynote his new appreciation for Next Radio is exactly the kind of thing we need to keep pushing out to our industry, the telcos and government. Keep up the great work.
Ross
Appreciate that, Ross, as well as your support. Great to see you, as always, at CMW.
I think Gary Shapiro’s “buggy-whip” smack down 4 years ago has done more to move Radio forward than anything else in recent memory.
4 years ago – facing an explosion of mobile and extinction of portable radios – Radio’s first instinct was an embarrassingly panicky attempt to get the Government to “Mandate” FM Chips on mobiles. I feel bad for Jeff Smulyan being the face of that.
But that was the posture of Radio leadership 4 years ago – entitled and afraid.
Jeff went back to the drawing board – and 4 years later – Radio has a consumer focused idea with the NextRadio app that they’re pitching to carriers and the consumer market.
Will it win? Consumers will decide.
And that was Gary’s point all along.
Precisely, Jeff. It was a lighting bolt. Thanks for recognizing that, and for chiming in.
Late here I know, but I still think NextRadio is a solution without a problem. There probably aren’t enough incremental listening opportunities on phones to move the needle and there is no research (that I’ve seen anyway) suggesting that this is something consumers really care about.
Has anyone actually RUN THE NUMBERS? Made a reasonable estimate of incremental listening where phones made radio available where it wasn’t otherwise? Then extrapolated ratings and revenue impact? Why hasn’t Jeff Smulyan commissioned a study asking people if they want this and if yes, where, when and for how long they would listen with their phones in place of something else?
Let’ts look at the other industries at DASH 2.0? Would any of them jump on something as a key, industry-wide priority with NO supporting data?
I’m not drinking the Kool Aid on this one without something other than a lot of wishful thinking supporting it.
Your skepticism is understandable, Bob. I believe, however, that research was conducted and I’ll send a note to Jeff Smulyan for clarification.
Bob Bellin’s note reminds me of the position of several wireless carriers, that no one wants FM radio on their cell phones. The NAB commissioned two separate studies which showed consumer interest at 80 per cent for having their smartphones include FM radio. Recent Edison studies show that around 50 per cent of consumers would listen to FM on their cell phones with 25 per cent saying they would listen a lot. These are studies done before many people even understand that they are paying for the same content that could be free. We know that around 8 billion hours of local radio are consumed in the data networks, and as data metering takes hold, people will understand that listening costs them money. We are already seeing that when people hit their data caps, they either stop or cut back their listening. This issue will affect almost every cell phone user.
As far as NextRadio, we know that the take rates are better than any other entertainment application that Sprint offers. We know that our metrics are growing by leaps and bounds and we can grow only when a new Sprint phone is sold. We know that in the Google Play store, our ratings are 4.1 out of 5, a terrific example of consumer acceptance. We also know that in the research done by Coleman, people loved the interactivity of NextRadio and loved the idea that they could actually have a portable radio with them at all times. (The current generation doesn’t understand that our industry sold 45 million Walkmen a year twenty years ago!).
We know that if a listener’s favorite station has interactivity on NextRadio that people listen twice as long. We are compiling data on listening every hour, but my question to Bob is, “If we had a radio in every cellphone, does you really think 315 million new radios that are in listeners’ hands every waking hour wouldn’t create significant new listening opportunities? Do you really think that an interactive, engaging system like NextRadio would not take advantage of our unique relationship with our listeners?”
With data metering, the tide of history is now moving in our favor. We need to take advantage of it now.
As Jeff mentioned above, Coleman Insights has completed and is in the process of completing another phase of research on consumer responses to NextRadio. The results look excellent…and have made me an optimist about NextRadio’s future. They absolutely confirm in my mind that NextRadio will provide a solution to a problem that many consumers have, but I’ll leave the readers of this blog hanging on that point for now.
We are in the process of coordinating with the NAB–which helped fund the research–on disseminating the research results in a manner that allows the dozens of broadcast groups that are supporting NextRadio to communicate a consistent message about the platform to consumers. Stay tuned…exciting stuff to come!
Good tease, Warren, and nice job of setting an “occasion.” Appreciate you taking the time to comment and we look forward to seeing the data.