Study Finds Strong Demand For NextRadio App

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, July 31, 2014

Smartphone owners are highly interested in NextRadio, the new app that allows consumers to listen to local radio stations using the FM chips already installed in their phones, according to a new national study by Coleman Insights and its knowDigital division. These consumers have positive initial impressions of the app, indicate that they are highly likely to download and use it and believe it will cause them to listen to local FM radio stations more than they currently do.

The study was supported by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and completed in cooperation with Emmis Communications, which developed NextRadio and has spearheaded the radio industry's support for its rollout. It's based on 801 online interviews with 18- to 49-year-old smartphone owners who viewed a 90-second video explaining NextRadio's capabilities and benefits. The sample employed quotas to ensure that it appropriately represents the national population in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and geography and so that interviewing was split roughly equally between smartphone owners with unlimited data plans and those with metered or pre-paid plans.

Among the study's key findings are:

• 88% had a positive reaction to NextRadio, including 56% who described their initial reaction as "very positive"
• 45% said they "definitely would" use NextRadio if it as installed on their smartphones; another 43% said they "probably would" use the app
• 80% said they "probably would" or "definitely would" download NextRadio if the app was not already installed on their smartphones
• 63% say they would listen to local FM radio more if they had NextRadio
• 73% of those with metered or pre-paid data plans acknowledge that such plans limited their consumption of audio entertainment on their smartphones
• Low battery and data plan usage were evaluated as the most positive of NextRadio's benefits
• 92% "strongly agree" or "agree" with the statement, "The NextRadio app is really cool"

"These findings line up nicely with the anecdotal evidence we're seeing since NextRadio was launched," said Emmis Founder/Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan. "People want free, local FM radio on their smartphones and NextRadio gives them exactly what they want."

"The qualitative research we released earlier this month made it clear that consumers liked NextRadio, but I must admit that how positive they reacted in the quantitative research exceeded my expectations," commented Coleman Insights President/COO Warren Kurtzman. "Results like these bode very well for NextRadio's potential to impact the consumption of local FM radio."

A streaming video presentation and a written summary of the study's findings are available at www.ColemanInsights.com/NextRadio.

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