Cox Media Group Connects with TagStation to Deliver Hybrid Radio Content

CHICAGO, May 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Joining the industry-wide effort to provide a compelling over-the-air radio listening experience on the smartphone, Cox Media Group (CMG) has chosen TagStation data service to supplement its FM radio programming with enhanced hybrid content. The move will give its more than 14 million radio listeners a new way to hear, see, and interact with the local radio programming they love.

"The car is really a radio on wheels, and TagStation helps in our quest to ensure radio stays cool, providing a richer in-car experience for our listeners," said CMG's Executive VP of Radio Kim Guthrie. "Now our on-the-go listeners have more ways to interact with their favorite radio superbrands and personalities where ever they are."     

TagStation^® is a cloud-based data service that provides an interface for radio stations to synchronize images and data with their broadcasts for display on the NextRadio app (NextRadioApp.com), HD Radio™ Artist Experience (hdradio.com), as well as the new breed of connected car dashboards expected in the future. NextRadio^® is a hybrid radio app currently available on select smartphones from Sprint that pairs over-the-air FM broadcasts with the internet to give users an enhanced radio listening experience including album art, program information, and the ability to provide station feedback and other interactivity with the touch of a button.

"We are pleased to see Cox embracing this industry effort to update the listener experience through hybrid radio via the TagStation platform," said Paul Brenner who leads the TagStation efforts for Emmis. "Consistent user experience on FM-enabled smartphones and connected cars will ultimately decide the future of terrestrial radio, and Cox Media Group Radio is doing their part to ensure industry success."

CMG joins a list of broadcasting groups as innovators who recognize the importance of elevating radio in the presence of so many current listening options. Its 47 FM radio stations have completed the set-up process and will soon begin delivering enhanced content to their audiences across the United States.

For information about licensing TagStation data services, contact Libby Hiple: [e-mail].

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps.  Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America's leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings.  The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 57 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services.  CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 30 million TV viewers, more than 3.5 million print and online newspaper readers, and more than 14 million radio listeners.  For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.    

About TagStation, LLC
TagStation, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emmis Communications Corporation. TagStation, LLC in a partnership with NAB Labs has developed the NextRadio® hybrid radio smartphone app which provides a rich FM radio listening experience on a smartphone using a combination of the smartphone's built-in FM tuner and the internet. It has also developed TagStation®, the cloud-based data service for enhanced radio broadcasting through HD Radio's Artist Experience® and the NextRadio smartphone app. Founded in 2013, TagStation, LLC is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN with offices in Indianapolis and Chicago, IL. For more information about TagStation®, visit TagStation.com.

SOURCE Emmis Communications

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