Veteran broadcaster David Kennedy had been an investor in FlyCast – now he’s running the company. FlyCast’s IP-based mobile delivery technology is used to deliver entertainment channels to iPhones, BlackBerrys and other Smartphone devices.
Most people in radio know Kennedy from his previous high-profile jobs in the industry. He was most recently CEO of Interep after a much longer period at Susquehanna Media, where he rose to President and CEO. Along the way he chaired the NAB Radio Board, the RAB Board of Directors and numerous broadcasting industry committees.
With Kennedy on board, FlyCast founder and previous CEO Sam Abadir will assume the rose of Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
“I actually learned about this company about three years ago through an angel investment group – and the guys who founded FlyCast happened to love radio. They use it, they have a passion for it,” Kennedy told RBR/TVBR. So he began as an investor and is now going to be running the day-to-day operations to make the company grow. The goal is to help radio stations claim their place on what is increasingly becoming a vital distribution platform – mobile wireless devices.
FlyCast is not the only company in the space doing IP-based audio delivery, but Kennedy says more advances are coming for its particular technology. And he sees the whole area as one where the whole radio industry needs to be establishing a strong presence, regardless of whether a particular broadcaster is using his company or another. He’s encouraged by the attention being paid to delivering audio to Smartphone devices, saying it validates the value of investing in developing and improving the technology.
“The cell phone is no longer just a cell phone – it’s a media extender,” Kennedy said. But he notes that when it comes to media, “the product comes first,” and who knows better how to create compelling audio content than radio broadcasters?
FlyCast was founded in 2006 by a group of PC industry veterans to create cutting edge IP-based mobile delivery technology that focused on Smartphones and other mobile digital media devices. The company’s FlyCast application offers users over 1,200 channels of entertainment, delivered to Smartphones over wireless connections. FlyCast is available for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, BlackBerry Storm, Bold, and Curve, and the Google G1 phone, in addition to desktop versions for PC and Macintosh platforms. FlyCast partners include Entercom Communications, AccuRadio, Radio Paradise, SmoothJazz.com, Digitally Imported, 1.FM and 977Music.
The new job is also convenient for Kennedy. No more commuting to New York from York, PA as he did at Interep. FlyCast is in Lancaster, PA.
RBR/TVBR observation: We knew Dave wouldn’t be out of the business for long. Great to have him back in another post where he’ll be working with multiple radio groups.
