“Connected markets allow infinite media choice… Radio companies need to recalibrate to the new era,” according to Nick Piggott.
 
Speaking at Broadcast Asia, Piggott, the Project Director of RadioDNS, detailed how the cost of digital radio transmission is decreasing rapidly.
 
“Digitisation changes the cost of transmission… downwards,” he said, giving an example of 10 new digital stations in the UK that are broadcasting out of a “small cheap box.”
 
Many people are having the argument about whether the future of radio is broadcast or internet, but “this is the wrong argument” according to Piggott. “They are both viable distribution platforms to make money from consumer time spent listening audio businesses.”
 
RadioDNS uses the benefits of broadcast (eg: low cost-per-listener and reliability) then blends in the benefits of the internet, to “use both tools together that are fit for the job.”
 
Combining benefits of the internet with broadcast can improve the variety of radio and reduce distribution costs.
 
The RadioDNS ethos is, “we want hybrid radio that is as open as broadcast radio. We are building RadioDNS for the benefit of audiences and operators.”
 
Radio technology works best in the car, but it looks worst because the car dash is now configured to display graphics, but most radio broadcasters who are not using RadiooDNS are limited to simple text, low resolution pictures and RDS data.
 
“No manufacturer is seriously going to take out radio, but the problem is prominence – the new services have a better experience. We want radio’s presentation to feel more like an app, to compete with the contemporary look of the new services. Metadata is boring, but it is important. Without it, your radio station will not be found in car radios in the future.”
 
Screens in dashboards are here, and Piggott asked delegates: What do your radio stations look like in that environment? “What is the radio industry doing to be able to look stunning on the car dashboard?”
 
“We are way beyond having crappy little 200 pixel pictures… we need to have quality pictures to compliment our audio. Our listeners must also be able to interact easily and quickly with what they have heard on the radio – with IP we can grab interest, hold it and give it back to them later.”
 
RadioDNS has been developed as an open standard and works with all digital radio formats.
 
“The costs of digital radio are plummeting and we can leverage tactical use of IP to make that broadcast channel more valuable,” concluded Piggott.