The National Association of Broadcasters, which represents thousands of radio and TV stations and networks, is pushing for Apple to implement FM radio capabilities in new generations of iPhones and iPods. To this end, David K. Rehr, president and CEO of the NAB, personally wrote a letter to the COO of Apple outlining all the potential benefits of outfitting Apple’s products with such technology: added value for consumers, additional revenue through song tagging, emergency broadcast capabilities, and so on.
Does this seem backwards to you? Believe it or not, with all of the music discovery and listening options out there today, terrestrial radio remains the most dominant and influential factor on music purchasing decisions. It sounds surprising, but hey, satellite radio is on the brink of failure, most online radio stations are struggling to turn a profit, and radio pop, rock, and hip hop songs are still selling in the hundreds of thousands. After all, people still have a drive to and from work where radio is the primary source of entertainment.
You can read the full letter from Rehr to Apple COO Timothy Cook here.
Rehr Encourages Apple to Add FM Radio Capabilities to iPhone, iPOD [NAB.org]
Tags: iphone, ipod, NAB, traditional radio
