LDR Crowdcasting Technology Allows Cox Media Group’s Tampa Station to Drive Listener Engagement
Tampa, Florida-based 97X, a Cox Media Group radio station, has become the first rock radio station in the world to allow its listeners to take control of its on-air music programming around the clock. Now, 97X has turned its programming entirely over to its audience through its app and website.
The technology supporting the new station format is provided by LDR (www.LDRinteractive.com), a Cleveland-based interactive broadcast technology company that pioneered the crowdcasting platform in 2009. The LDR.Takeover platform allows listeners to vote on each song that plays on 97X throughout the day by voting on its website (www.97xonline.com) and through a new mobile app custom-developed for the station.
“Broadcasters have always encouraged listeners to interact with stations. However, listener feedback has often been filtered and programming decisions have been typically managed by station management,” said Daniel Anstandig, president and CEO of LDR. “LDR enables broadcasters to get much closer to their listeners and empowers them to pick what songs they want to hear on their favorite station live minute-by-minute in real time. Our collaboration with the 97X management team has been exciting—together, our goal has been to build the most engaging radio station on Earth. Listeners control every move on 97X.”
In addition to the music voting features, the mobile app offers several other interactive elements. It allows listeners to record audio and send it directly to the station for broadcasting, sign-up for instant SMS, email, and twitter alerts when their favorite songs are about to play, and share votes on social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. 97X listeners can also earn social media ‘badges’ by interacting with the station.
About LDR
LDR is a global leader in innovative interactive broadcast technology. Its LDR.1 and LDR.Takeover platforms are on the air at over 160 radio stations, networks, and broadcast groups in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia, reaching over 50 million listeners monthly. LDR empowers listeners to become real-time collaborators in on-air programming, automatically adjusting content based on audience input. LDR’s new TopicPulse system provides valuable real-time information to newsrooms and content producers on what topics are getting local social buzz. More information is available on LDR at www.LDRinteractive.com.