NAB 2013: CEO Gordon Smith Talks 'Hybrid' Radio

Gordon Smith

National Association of Broadcasters CEO Gordon Smith issued a deceptively simple challenge to his organization's members: Continue to innovate and find new ways to provide content to listeners on different platforms. Smith presented his annual State of the Industry address Monday morning at the 2013 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

According to billboard.com, Smith says he is optimistic about the future and broadcasters should be as well, because of how the industry has consistently been able to adapt to consumers' changing habits.

“The time has come for us to unite in our embrace of new technology, and to realize the consequences if we don't. Our future lies in innovating and spurring technology that will deliver our highly valued content to any platform for generations to come.”

Talking about radio specifically, Smith discussed the potential for including radio receivers in smartphones, “Future radios in smartphones will combine over-the-air and online content for a rich, ‘hybrid radio’ experience that provides interactive enhancements, along with potential new revenue opportunities.”

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Hurricane Sandy helped to make a case for adding radio to mobile devices. “Up and down the Eastern seaboard, we heard stories of cell networks and broadband connections being down for days, even weeks. But radio was always on.” Even so, Smith says that radio stations “can’t take their place in the [automobile] dashboard for granted. We must continue to innovate and provide the content listeners want on many different platforms.”

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Bob Schieffer, CBS chief Washington correspondent and recipient of this year’s NAB Distinguished Service Award, says its up to local broadcasters to become the primary watchdogs of local government with newspapers increasingly falling on hard times. (Watch Video above)

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