The Evolution of Radio in Cars: Embracing the Connected Future
Radio has always been the go-to companion for car journeys, much like how television dominates the living room. In the past, things were simple with a primary focus on radio, offering a convenient and straightforward experience. However, with the advent of smartphones, the landscape of in-car entertainment has undergone a significant transformation. The concept of the car is becoming more like that of the phone, complete with a tablet-like dashboard, a wide range of apps, hybrid radio capabilities, and even access to video content while stationary
Smartphone disruption: Transforming in-car entertainment
The introduction of smartphones brought about a shift towards on-demand audio, personalised playlists, and streaming services. 39% of people between the age of 18 and 29 years old listen to streamed music during a short car trip. While this offered more choices and flexibility, it also raised concerns about driver distraction since you’re connected to different apps on your phone during driving. Today, phones have become the generic audio source in cars, often integrated through platforms like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. This integration enables drivers to enjoy personalised content while on the go.
Looking ahead, the future of in-car entertainment is moving towards a car-as-a-phone concept. With tablet-like dashboards and a strong emphasis on apps, the possibilities are expanding. Hybrid radio, which combines traditional broadcast with on-demand capabilities, is gaining popularity among drivers: 70 % of the people in Sweden listen to broadcast radio.
One notable example of this evolution is Android Automotive. With its own SIM card, Android Automotive transforms the car into a customised version of our favourite apps. Google aims to dominate this market by selling Google Services on top of the platform.
While the impact of cars with their own SIM cards will take time to fully unfold, the connected car category is expected to grow steadily. Cars are not replaced as frequently as other tech devices, and car manufacturers' lead times are long. However, car makers are actively forming partnerships and striking deals with distributors to prepare for the future and monetize their offerings once they achieve scale.
Radio’s enduring role in car journeys
Audience research reveals that the car remains the most common mode of travel, particularly for short trips. In Sweden, half of the radio listeners enjoy their favourite shows and music in the car, with a staggering 70% of teenagers doing the same. The prime radio listening times are typically during the morning and evening rush hours, highlighting the significant role of radio during these periods.
Understanding the preferences of drivers is crucial when developing new digital offerings for platforms like CarPlay and Android Auto. While there is a large user base for these platforms, they also offer relative ease of development. And by building offerings, content providers can ensure their presence where consumers are already concentrated.
In light of this, there is a growing need to bridge the gap between traditional radio and the emerging digital landscape. Drivers appreciate the simplicity of radio but often face challenges in catching up with shows or starting them from the beginning. They crave traffic updates, essential news, and their favourite radio channels, all conveniently accessible during their journeys. By providing adapted content and integrating the best of radio and digital services, drivers could enjoy a seamless and enjoyable in-car entertainment experience.
Collaboration is the key to bringing content into the connected cars of the future. Navigating the relationships with app store providers and car manufacturers is crucial to ensure app visibility, user accessibility, monetization opportunities and a seamless integration to the automotive ecosystem. Simply making apps available is not enough; ensuring that content is visible and accessible within the car's dashboard is equally as important.
Embracing the Connected Future
In a focus group study, Sveriges Radio and Novus researched the possible influence of long vs. short trips on audio choices. Results showed that during short trips, radio use is extremely dominant, but during long car rides people prefer to listen to music or a podcast. But with the ease of connecting your phone to your car, listening to music increasingly also means streaming that music.
With these results in mind, SR went a step further and tried to find out if audio choices also depend on the amount of people in the car. For both listening to the radio and streaming music, there is no difference whether you’re driving alone or with others. But when it comes to podcasts, users prefer to listen alone.
At BBC R&D, they are developing a mobility and in-car strategy looking towards the next 5-10 years. The ‘On the Move’ project looks at the transition between apps and car systems, content interactions across different devices and context. The automotive app should be an interoperable experience across channels, while also being oriented to consumer preferences. Location intelligence data, e.g. time and location, are very important to suggest relevant and personalised content. Next to that, it is crucial to understand the consumer journey so users can browse and search intuitively according to their specific context and mindset.
In order to understand the consumer preferences, BBC R&D conducted a survey and hosted 4 group sessions with the participants to look at past behaviours, current lived experiences and future aspirations. Their goal was to find out how transport impacted the BBC audience in their daily life, what their desires would be for the future and how it helps consumers to stay connected to other people. The results contained many personal stories that gave them the understanding of how complex people’s travel needs are. For example, one of the participants talked about the difficulties of public transport, but the fact that she has to take different transports gives her the opportunity to connect with other people. For another participant, taking her kids to school is seen as a relaxing moment. By analysing these different audience preferences, BBC R&D is able to develop different prototypes to find the best in-car experience for each individual.
Another notable case is the collaboration between ARD’s app Tagesschau and connected cars. They work on a hybrid app that combines news in both audio and video formats, with the goal of being able to watch videos while you’re not driving. These audio news streams, where already existing content is being repackaged for the app, are successfully used when, for example, distributed through other apps or Amazon’s Alexa.
Conclusion
The evolution of radio in cars has brought about a significant shift in the landscape of in-car entertainment. The introduction of smartphones disrupted the traditional radio experience, providing users with more choices and flexibility through on-demand audio and streaming services. Despite these advancements, radio remains a dominant force in car journeys, particularly during rush hours which emphasises its enduring role.
To bridge the gap between traditional radio and the digital landscape, ensuring content visibility and accessibility within the car’s dashboard is ever important. Understanding driver preferences and developing tailored offerings can lead to a seamless and enjoyable in-car entertainment experience. As the connected car category continues to grow, partnerships between content providers, app store providers, and car manufacturers will be crucial to monetize offerings and integrate seamlessly into the automotive ecosystem. The future of in-car entertainment is embracing the connected future, where radio and digital services come together to enhance the driving experience.
Article written by Friederike Vleminckx