News

In-store radio network expands Texas footprint

February 14, 2012

A professionally-produced, private-label radio station is now playing throughout 90 locations of Spec's Wines, Spirits and Finer across Texas

Barix is exclusively providing IP audio decoding solutions to RFC Media for its private-label, retail radio network, according to a company press release.

"Barix gives us the power we need to ensure our clients have continuous, uninterrupted service of a living, breathing radio station," Pat Fant, co-founder and chief operating officer, RFC Media, said in the release. "Plug in the Exstreamer, and it's ready to make radio. I'm not sure we could deliver the same quality broadcast experience at the same price without Barix."

RFC Media, managed by longtime radio broadcast professionals, creates custom-produced, Internet-delivered radio stations for private enterprises, supplying music with live breaks to create a broadcast experience. The company uses Barix Exstreamer 100 IP audio devices to receive and decode its program streams at client locations, citing ease of use and setup, stability, low cost and audio quality as key differentiators from competitive solutions.

RFC Media differentiates itself from background music services by offering a true hosted radio station experience. "Host presenters" make announcements — live or on delay — related to the business during music breaks. All clients receive customized music programs updated every 24 hours, including Spec's Radio, the private-label radio station created for the Texas retail chain.

"We're not a playlist company — we're radio people," Fant said. "We have a professional production studio with the equipment and software to put together and stream a full presentation. This stems from our background as broadcasters. We approach this differently from interruption-style media common in background music systems. We talk to the customer instead of advertising to them."

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