The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) Monday published new information on the penetration of FM chips in smartphones for the North American market.
Working with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and using data compiled by research and consulting firm ABI Research, this sales data shows the extent of FM chip penetration in the top-selling smartphones for Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.
As demonstrated by this data, most of the top-selling smartphones in all three countries include an FM chip, which means that these devices can receive free, over-the-air FM radio signals, depending upon whether the FM chip is activated in the device. For a variety of reasons, these FM chips are often not activated, most notably in all of Apple’s iPhone products (which are top sellers). Broadcasters are working with smartphone device manufacturers and cellular carriers to increase the number of models that have the FM chip activated so that more consumers have access to FM radio on their smartphones.
“NABA believes that providing statistical data on FM chip activation in smartphones for North America is an important step for raising awareness of this technology among radio broadcasters and consumers,” said NABA Director-General Michael McEwen.
“FM radio is enjoyed around the world and is a global standard. This fits well with smartphones where FM chips are already installed and sold globally. We applaud NABA for their work to build awareness on the benefits of activating FM chips in North America,” commented NAB Executive Vice President and CTO Sam Matheny.
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