Emmis SVP/Chief Technology Officer Paul Brenner led a webinar on Wednesday (2/27), discussing the upcoming NextRadio app and the company's plans with Sprint to enable FM radio access on smartphones. Brenner emphasizing that the project goes beyond just Emmis and Sprint, but will hopefully encompass the whole industry. Brenner said that “We are trying to create an ecosystem for broad adoption” of FM in mobile devices, according to Radio World.

Brenner also said their goal is to have FM activation in smartphones this year, and hope to have a number of stations "activated" in the NextRadio system by July. He also gave a demonstration of the NextRadio app, showing how all the stations in a market would be listed on the app, even those not available through the service.

Brenner also added that the goal is to have at least 2,900 stations in the top 100 markets in the country participating in the NextRadio project this year.

In related news, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan spoke at the Country Radio Seminar yesterday in Nashville, echoing the importance of FM on smartphones. According to The Tennessean, Smulyan said that FM on smartphones would be a "game changer for our industry."

He added. "Today, the only portable device that matters is the smartphone. We need to be there." Smulyan also noted that "We know that this has the chance to be a major revenue source for an industry that desperately needs it."