The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia awarded funding to support community radio’s transition to multiplatform delivery to meet listener and community expectations

We’re delighted to announce that the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF) will provide support over the next four years for the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) to support community radio stations to provide Australian community media audiences with seamless, personalised digital experiences that allow them to enjoy and engage with content regardless of where they live, time of day or their preferred device.

Very few community broadcasters have the significant resources needed to develop or buy technologies, test potential listening markets or measure audience behaviour.

Jo Curtin, the CBF’s Chief Executive Officer, says “This is an important initiative for community broadcasters as it will help bridge the gap and ensure that audiences can keep connected no matter how they choose to tune in.”

“To ensure our continued relevance every community radio station in Australia needs to be available in the places that listeners expect – live via AM, FM and DAB+ and online, on-demand, and as podcasts, said CBAA Chief Executive Officer, Jon Bisset.

“Through this initiative, we will increase listener access to community radio and future proof community radio stations to remain competitive in a disruptive media landscape. The solutions will streamline day-to-day station operations and workflows, build online audiences, and maximise station online revenue.”

The CBAA’s Manager, Online Products & Services, Andrew Morris says that “through our partnership with Triton Digital – a global technology and services leader to the digital audio and podcast industry, community radio will be able to leverage Triton’s suite of solutions to ensure listeners can access their content anywhere, anytime. Triton’s Omny Studio podcast platform is also an amazing tool and I’m excited to hear the podcasts community radio content makers produce.”

The CBAA is also partnering with All in Media (AIM), a part of Xperi – a leading worldwide supplier of smartphone apps, smart speaker integrations and broadcast systems for the radio industry. The CBAA will launch a community radio aggregation app in the first half of 2021 along with smart speaker skills.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the CBAA on this project”, says Jason Malaure, VP All In Media, “In the rapidly changing digital audio landscape, broadcasters must leverage new technologies and ensure easy access to their content on all platforms. We welcome this opportunity to support CBAA and the community sector as they expand their reach in the home, on mobile and in the car.”