Mike McVay, president of McVay Media, shares key takeaways from a joint session at NAB Show in Las Vegas with Laura Ivey. The session paired Edison Research findings with practical programming perspective.
Key Takeaways from Improving the Listening Experience
- Connectivity: Strong audience connection comes from understanding lifestyles, habits, and interests. Local talent has an edge, but syndicated and voice-tracked programming can compete with intentional effort.
- Commercials: Ad-supported audio remains dominant. With limited appetite to reduce ad load, improving creative quality is critical.
- Multi-platform: Radio must be present across OTA, streaming, podcasts, social, apps, and live experiences to stay competitive.
- Podcasting: Continued growth offers opportunities to build both station and talent brands, with host-read ads supporting revenue.
- Artificial intelligence: Audience discomfort with AI reinforces the importance of authenticity, emotion, and real-time human perspective.
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