Cumulus to Bring Geotargeted ZoneCasting to Boston

WXLO plans a 2027 rollout of Aktira’s technology on booster-aided rimshotter The post Cumulus to Bring Geotargeted ZoneCasting to Boston appeared first on Radio World.

Locations of WXLO’s three licensed boosters, with Longley-Rice coverage overlaid. From the RadioLand app. Click to enlarge. The industry has been interested in seeing the results of geotargeting on boosters in a densely populated area without much terrain shielding. We may get the chance to see it in action next year in Greater Boston. Cumulus Media announced plans Friday to deploy ZoneCasting technology from Aktira (formerly GeoBroadcast Solutions) on 104.5 WXLO(FM), licensed to Fitchburg, Mass. The companies expect ZoneCasting to launch on the station in the first quarter of 2027. The deployment on WXLO would be among the first commercial stations in the country to broadcast localized commercials to specific zones within the same metropolitan area. Under the FCC’s 2025 authorization of program origination on FM boosters, stations may split off synchronized boosters to air localized programming and commercials for up to three minutes per hour. To date, the only other commercial deployment of ZoneCasting has been on KADD(FM) licensed to Logandale, Nev. [Related: “Inside America’s First FM Geotargeting Deployment”] The Boston rollout will focus on inserting targeted advertising for listeners in a designated geographic zone east of Route 128, a Cumulus release said, while audiences outside that perimeter will continue to hear the main broadcast. “This gives advertisers greater flexibility to reach consumers in specific areas of Greater Boston without sacrificing the broad reach and impact of FM radio,” the companies said in a release. WXLO’s primary 37 kW ERP transmission site is located east of Wachusett Mountain between Fitchburg and Worcester, operating very much as a rimshot into Boston. The station originally added a synchronized MaxxCasting booster network in January 2019. The station currently operates three booster nodes: WXLO-FM1 (Boston): Licensed for 10 watts ERP with an antenna atop the John Hancock Tower. WXLO-FM2 (Lexington): Vertically polarized, licensed for 450 watts ERP along Concord Avenue in Lexington. WXLO-FM3 (Waltham): Vertically polarized, licensed for 700 watts ERP positioned just west of Route 128 in Waltham. The geotargeting initiative will also work in tandem with Cumulus’ use of Xperi’s DTS AutoStage platform, providing connected-car analytics and listener behavior insights across the market, the release said. GeoBroadcast Solutions rebranded as Aktira last month . Backed by approximately $60 million to get the model to market validation, Aktira is offering what it calls a no-upfront-cost model. [Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here. ] The post Cumulus to Bring Geotargeted ZoneCasting to Boston appeared first on Radio World .