Broadcasters are in the process of trying to make a place for their programming – particularly their emergency programming – on mobile phones. Thankfully, emergencies are only occasionally in progress, so strong programming is the key to getting consumers to use a phone to get radio, and WQXR-FM isn’t waiting around – it’s offering a mobile application for its New York City fans.
The station will debut the service with the season opener of the iconic New York Philharmonic.
The application is free for iPhone users, and will be available for Android sometime in early October.
“It took us 75 years to get here, but we are thrilled to launch the WQXR app,” said Graham Parker, Vice President of WQXR. “Now our listeners can hear our live broadcasts from New York’s premier concert halls, watch exclusive video of their favorite performers, read the latest musings of our plugged-in bloggers, or just enjoy the great classical music we offer everyday, wherever they are. We’re excited to have a new way to reach passionate fans while also attracting new listeners to the genre.”
The station noted, “The mobile app will give audiences direct access to the broadcast on 105.9 FM and on Q2 Music, WQXR’s online contemporary music stream. The app will also offer all the rich content and features found on www.wqxr.org, including:
* real-time and archived radio playlists;
* archived episodes of destination programs, including the cross-genre All Ears with Terrance McKnight, the film-score fest Movies on the Radio, and The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle;
* WQXR news features including “Arts File” and “The Washington Report” with New York Times reporter David Sanger;
* WQXR blogs, including the popular “Operavore” (formerly “WQX-Aria”), authored by Fred Plotkin and Olivia Giovetti;
* original video/audio content, such as Café Concerts videos, which features both emerging and established artists, and “Top Five at 105.9,” on which classical music luminaries and personalities from other fields share their favorite compositions and performances; and
* WQXR podcasts, including the music industry roundtable “Conducting Business” and Around Broadway with New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood, among others.
RBR-TVBR observation: Commercial and non-profit radio stations face very different challenges, but some things are the same for both. We wish WQXR the best of luck with this project, and hope they can provide an example that will be a benefit to all radio operators.
