Adapting to the Digital Radio Era: Pete Gray on Using Backbone to Stay Connected

The radio industry has changed dramatically over the past three decades. Audiences are no longer tied to the reach of a single terrestrial station. Instead, they expect to engage across apps, streams, and social media. Recently, Sarah Malone, who leads marketing and project development for Backbone, sat down with broadcasting veteran and host of SoCal's popular sportsfishing radio show "Lets Talk Hookup" Pete Gray to hear how he has adapted to this shifting landscape and how Backbone’s technology helps him stay ahead.

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Pete Gray has been in broadcasting for 34 years, starting out when terrestrial radio was the dominant medium. Today, his strategy looks very different. While he still broadcasts through 97.3 The Fan, Pete realized that relying on traditional radio alone wasn’t enough to reach modern listeners.

In an effort to get ahead of the curve, Pete combined traditional broadcasting with digital platforms. “Getting our app early on was huge for us,” Pete explained. “And more recently, adding YouTube and Facebook has been just as important. Those platforms let us connect with people far outside what one radio tower could cover.”

Pete’s team now reaches audiences across broader geographic areas, ensuring their content is available wherever listeners are tuning in. But he realized that wasn't enough. Now that they've moved towards more digital streaming options, there presented another problem: the internet's thirst for content. How do you compete for attention in the current age of streaming and online radio?

The easiest way is assessing your syndication and production methods. One of the biggest shifts for Pete’s team has been the move toward virtual syndication. With Backbone Broadcast, his shows extend far beyond a single station. George Capalbo, CTO of the Backbone team, helped Pete's studio set up automated replays so the stream never goes silent, something that’s essential for professional-grade broadcasting.

Backbone also makes it simple for Pete’s team to create and manage commercial sets, preserving the standardized ad formats sponsors expect while streamlining the process for digital delivery.

“The commercial tools work really well and are easy to use,” Pete said. “It lets us keep that familiar radio format, but with the flexibility of digital.”

Audience engagement is another area where Pete has seen Backbone shine. While standard call-ins still come through the terrestrial station, Pete uses a separate Backbone Talk account to manage a network of fishing reporters. With Backbone Talk, Pete controls who joins, when they join, and how long they stay on-air. Even more importantly, he can adjust each caller’s volume for a balanced, professional sound, which is a feature traditional phone systems lack.

“It’s a huge advantage,” Pete noted. “The ability to balance caller sound levels makes everything smoother and easier to listen to.”

Pete emphasized the cost efficiency of moving to Backbone Broadcast. Compared to traditional radio, our virtual broadcasting services come in at “about a tenth of the cost.” That kind of savings allows Pete’s team to focus resources on content and audience connection instead of infrastructure.

“The switch to Backbone was seamless,” he shared. “It actually works, and it’s easy to learn. We’ve got everything we need—streaming, phones, commercials—all in one place.”

And his listeners have noticed, too. Many appreciate being able to tune in through multiple platforms with the same high quality audio, a convenience Pete attributes directly to Backbone’s integration.

For Pete Gray, adapting to the evolving radio landscape has meant embracing digital tools while preserving the best parts of traditional broadcasting. With Backbone Broadcast, his team has found the balance between the two and deliver professional, engaging content at a fraction of the cost.

As Pete put it simply: “Backbone Broadcast makes it possible.”

Check out Pete's radio show Let's Talk Hookup Here.

To add Backbone Broadcast technology to your workflow, contact:

Richard A. Cerny

Backbone Networks Corporation

+1 844-422-2526 ext. 707

rcerny@backbonebroadcast.com