Cumulus Media has launched new radio formats on two FM HD Radio channels in Nashville using Super Hi-Fi’s Program Director platform.
Super Hi-Fi, Cumulus and Xperi announced the partnership jointly. They said these channels will serve as a “testing ground for exciting new radio programs and related services” to enhance radio’s prominence in the digital dashboard.
The formats are called “The Hill” — which involves input from a local high school — and “Nashville Songwriter Radio.” They are now being broadcast on the HD2 and HD3 channels of Cumulus station WGFX, which airs on 104.5 MHz, and can be heard by any vehicles with HD Radio receivers in the market.
The announcement was made by Super Hi-Fi CEO Zack Zalon, Xperi SVP of Broadcast and Digital Audio Joe D’Angelo, and Conrad Trautmann, the CTO of Cumulus Media.
Trautmann was quoted saying Cumulus hopes to “connect to new, local communities with targeted programming by leveraging our HD channels to reach different audiences around the country.” The stations are also participating in Xperi’s DTS AutoStage platform.
The formats “are designed to explore the potential for using the HD Radio spectrum more broadly to deliver human-curated radio experiences that are designed to speak directly to a local audience, with local programming and a local feel,” the companies said.
Super Hi-Fi Program Director is described as a radio “operating system” driven by artificial intelligence. We asked for more about how the technology is being applied here.
“These stations are curated by the Super Hi-Fi team, and programmed using Program Director,” a spokeswoman said by email. “We’re also working with world-class voice talent to brand and host the stations. Program Director uses Super Hi-Fi’s production AI to create all of the segues as well as insert and mix voice tracks and branding elements. But the stations are hand-curated by our human music experts.”
The Hill, on 104.5 WGFX HD2, is “designed with the tastes of high school students in mind, featuring a mix of popular and emerging music across pop, hip-hop, alternative and country genres.” It was developed in partnership with Green Hill High School in Mt. Juliet, Tenn.
Nashville Songwriter Radio, heard on 104.5 WGFX HD3, “serves as a platform for the vibrant songwriter community in Nashville.”
