Subscription option redefines HD Radio® economics, enabling Visual Advertising revenue.
NAB 2026, Booth C2546 — Nautel today announced the availability of the first ever subscription option HD Radio® Software Based Air Chain, solution priced at $299 per month for USA customers using Nautel’s GV2 FM transmitter. The offering transforms HD Radio from a capital intensive hardware project into a complete, software defined service—lowering barriers to adoption while enabling new, measurable visual advertising revenue opportunities. HD Radio infrastructure is shifted to a predictable operating expense model, making the advantages of digital radio more accessible to broadcasters.
Designed for FM broadcasters seeking to launch, expand, or modernize HD Radio services, the Software Based Air Chain brings complementary technologies together into the customer’s GV2 transmitter to address longstanding challenges related to cost, space, and operational complexity.
The subscription includes:
- Omnia® for Nautel Audio Processing (FM + HD)
- FM+HD Blend Lock, ensuring precise time alignment and eliminating blend drift
- HD Importer and Exporter
- Exgine® HD Radio exciter functionality
- NautelCare support
Together, these components form a complete, production ready HD Radio air chain without the need for multiple external appliances, complex wiring, or dedicated rack space.
Additional options enable infrastructure for visual radio and next generation advertising. HD Radio supports rich visual metadata—including album art, station branding, and advertiser graphics, delivered to in vehicle displays. Services from Quu, which enables in dash visual advertising, are further enhanced by platforms like DTS AutoStage, which provide data and reporting to help broadcasters measure ad lift, listener engagement, and campaign effectiveness.
“This disruptive subscription-based delivery model is the defining differentiator of Nautel’s Software Based Air Chain,” said John Whyte, Head of Marketing and Product Strategy at Nautel. “It begins with Nautel’s award-winning GV2 transmitter, then brings HD Radio to life through an easily managed subscription for the other needed air chain components. This removes longstanding technical and financial barriers to digital radio; the result is faster adoption, broader participation, and a clearer path to new revenue—setting a new benchmark for how HD Radio systems are deployed and monetized.”
The Software-Based Air Chain subscription is available for all GV2 transmitters. Licenses for HD-Radio broadcasting are required and available via a separate purchase from Xperi. Add-on functionality provided by DTS and Quu are subject to the pricing options and terms of those vendors.
Nautel is demonstrating the Software Based Air Chain at the 2026 NAB Show, booth C2546.
About Nautel
Nautel is the world’s largest manufacturer of AM and FM radio broadcast transmitters with key contributions in the field of digital broadcasting. Focused on making transmission worry-free for users worldwide, Nautel transmitters employ advanced control, monitoring, and instrumentation tools which simplify management of transmitter sites, both locally and remotely via web access. More than 20,000 Nautel transmitters have been deployed in over 177 countries since 1970. For more information visit www.nautel.com
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For more information please contact:
John Whyte
Head of Marketing and Product Strategy
+1 902-823-5174
[email protected]
