Cox Media Group Partners with LDR Interactive to Launch New Interactive Mobile Music Apps

ATLANTA, CLEVELAND and DALLAS, Aug. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The radio broadcasting industry's most innovative interactive mobile app hits the airwaves at 33 music stations in 11 Cox Media Group (CMG) (www.coxmediagroup.com) radio markets this summer thanks to a partnership with broadcast technology company LDR Interactive (www.LDRinteractive.com).

The iPhone, iPad and Android apps, created by LDR Interactive for Cox Media Group, provide listeners with a real-time interactive experience featuring live audio streams from their favorite music stations, voting for the songs they'd like to hear next, an 'open mic' feature allowing them to create a high quality dedication in their own voice, and extensive integration with Facebook and Twitter.

Initially, CMG stations in Athens and Atlanta, Ga.; Dayton, Ohio; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Long Island, N.Y.; Miami; Orlando; San Antonio; Tampa; and Tulsa started introducing the apps to their listeners in beginning in June.  All 33 radio CMG stations will have the new apps by mid-August.

"These best-in-class new apps extend our brands to listeners no matter where they are or what they are doing," said CMG Executive VP of Radio Kim Guthrie.  "Listeners can make decisions regarding our programming and have on-the-go access to their favorite radio personalities.  In addition, our apps have some pretty cool features that expand our brands beyond what we can do on the air, building a better relationship with our listeners."   

Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company, with more than 14 million radio listeners.

"We are proud to have partnered with Cox Media Group in this first mobile app development project working closely with Kim Guthrie, Steve Smith, Rich Reis and the CMG management team," said Daniel Anstandig, president and CEO of LDR Interactive.  "CMG previously adopted our LDR.1 and LDR.Takeover platform technology at the majority of its radio stations.  Last year, we set up a joint task force to conceive of a next generation mobile app that would help provide radio stations with a turnkey strategy to fully engage with their audiences in a very personal way.

"Today, we are formally launching that app which rivals and surpasses other popular streaming music apps with the added advantage of integration into consumers' favorite local broadcast brands. We are proud that CMG is the first in the world to introduce it to their loyal radio listeners."

The new apps feature complete social integration with Facebook and Twitter, allowing users to share songs with their friends and notify them of a song they have dedicated to them. It also allows listeners to win badges for using the app – local stations can design new badges anytime to reward listeners for voting on a particular song or artist, for making an open mic recording or using the app during a certain time of day.

A novel 'alarm clock' function awakens listeners with a custom greeting including their local weather forecast, names of Facebook friends having birthdays and station contest reminders – before automatically starting the station's audio stream.

"This is the hottest interactive radio mobile app on the planet, and our listeners get it first and exclusively," said Steve Smith, CMG vice president of radio programming.  "Additionally, this app actually brings the audience inside our brands where they can steer the ship with us!"

LDR Interactive has agreed to license the apps exclusively to Cox Media Group in their radio markets. The app will be available to other radio station group operators outside of CMG markets under the Gruvr^TM brand name, which was announced separately today.

Pioneering radio crowdcasting technology in 2009, LDR Interactive's patent-pending technology and interactive programming is on the air at over 260 radio stations, networks, and broadcast groups in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. Since 2012, the company's clients have generated nearly $3 million dollars in new digital revenues and sponsorships as a result of the LDR Interactive systems.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps.  Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America's leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings.  The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 57 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services.  CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 30 million TV viewers, more than 4 million print and online newspaper readers, and 14 million radio listeners.  For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.   

About LDR Interactive
LDR Interactive is a global leader in innovative interactive broadcast technology. Its LDR.1 and LDR.Takeover platforms are on the air at over 260 radio stations, networks, and broadcast groups in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia, reaching over 65 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 http://www.LDRinteractive.com.

Gruvr is a trademark of LDR Interactive. All other trade names are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Cox Media Group