NAB Show: Radio Has Choices

Gordon Smith

As the 2016 NAB Show opened, NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith reminded broadcasters that the industry, like the nation it serves in this election year, is faced with choices.

“Each NAB Show presents broadcasters with choices that could impact their futures and gives us the chance to seek new directions and make changes, where warranted, so we can continue to deliver the best live, local content to our listeners, when and where they want it.”

RadioWorld reports Smith said radio’s future lies in being available on every device and making choices that support its innovations.

“Radio’s audience continues to evolve, and we must continue to evolve with them.” He noted ongoing efforts to persuade cellular carriers to activate FM radio receivers in smartphones. Commitments from AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint will provide more than two-thirds of U.S. mobile phone users with access to a free entertainment and emergency information option through FM radio in smartphones, he said. “We hope Verizon and others will join them soon.”

Smith also noted the importance to industry of “ensuring radio’s rightful place in the automotive dashboard of the future.” He said emphatically: “We know that radio is what drivers want most, and we’ll also ensure that Detroit knows it.”



Click Here for text of Smith's Opening Remarks.

In his discussion of radio issues, Smith stressed that the medium’s future lies in its availability on every device and “making choices that support its innovations.” Pointing to Nielsen research that says more Millennials listen to radio than any other demographic—66.5 million each week—Smith said, “Radio’s audience continues to evolve, and we must continue to evolve with them.”

That includes the steady push to make FM radio chips standard fare in smartphones. With AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint unlocking FM radio in current and future phones, “more than two-thirds of U.S. mobile phone users [will have] access to a free entertainment and emergency information option through FM radio in their smartphones,” he said. “We do hope Verizon and others will join them soon.”

InsideRadio reports the NAB chief also addressed “ensuring radio’s rightful place” in the automotive dashboard of the future, calling attention to studies that make clear AM/FM radio is indispensable to drivers as their No. 1 audio option in vehicles. “While many drivers desire interactive features, the great majority also wants a traditional radio interface,” he noted. “We know that radio is what drivers want most, and we also will ensure that Detroit knows it.”

Smith added that radio broadcasters “must, and we will, continue to retain our rightful place in the automobile,” while stressing that the industry needs to work toward the future by “providing [an] interactive experience for those listeners who desire it. In the end, as you know, the customer is king and our listeners will decide ultimately what they want and what is on the dash.”

And regarding the hot button issue of royalties, Smith pointed out that the NAB is maintaining efforts to support policies enabling stations to deliver content across emerging platforms. Noting the association’s advocacy that helped reduce Copyright Royalty Board rates for radio broadcasters’ streaming services by 32%, the audience applauded enthusiastically, as he added, “We want reasonable streaming rates that encourage more broadcasters to stream and deliver music in new ways to their listeners. This is a win for everyone who loves, who makes or who plays music.”