‘Stay Tuned’ for 'Interesting' NextRadio Announcements, Says Emmis CEO

NextRadio developer Emmis Communications feels “very strongly about the future" for the FM-reception smartphone app, said CEO Jeff Smulyan on a Thursday earnings call. “We’ve had some terrific discussions with other broadcasters about that future, and we’re working on that.” Emmis also is “excited about the future for NextRadio outside the United States, not only in Latin America and Canada, but also now in Asia,” he said. Q4 ended Feb. 28 was “another good quarter” for NextRadio, said Smulyan. The quarter included Samsung’s agreement to unlock FM chips in its Galaxy phones and JVCKenwood’s CES announcement adopting NextRadio for the connected car (see 1801120025). “I think we are seeing the realization among our industry and among advertisers of the value of the data attribution to advertisers that we provide” through NextRadio, he said. “Stay tuned for more interesting announcements from NextRadio and our involvement with other broadcasters, who see the value of the work that we’re doing, that we need to do as an industry.”