I have written a lot about the coming transformation of the auto dashboard and my belief that, in the long run, it will be the domain of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – that these platforms will squeeze out most alternatives. Why? Because consumers will exert their will on automakers and demand that their dashboards are not only as powerful as their smartphones but that they are identical to them (at least within the constraints of driver safety, a sacrifice any driver under

From Radio Ink: While the radio industry grapples with what it should be doing about the connected car, there may be some comfort in knowing consumers are still a bit baffled by the connected car as well. Nielsen’s new AutoTECHCAST report shows that nearly one-third of consumers have never heard of these technology-enabled vehicles. “These consumers don’t know what connected cars do, and are not associating vehicle brands with infotainment badging.” Both the auto and radio in

Every time there’s some new innovation out there which enhances the choice set available to consumers who want to hear audio entertainment or information, a chill runs up the spine of every broadcaster, because with such a large fraction of listening, radio seems to stand more to lose than to gain from the expansion of choice. Without question, new choices squeeze existing options. Indeed, given the growing number of distractions available to consumers across every platform –

When I read trade headlines like “who will lead Radio?” the implication is that there is this silo called “radio” which is independent from and not subject to the constraints of every other silo in the media space known by every other label. But radio really is a gift of attention by those who are interested in our brands and in all their marvelous forms across all platforms. And gifts don’t necessarily keep on giving. Tech guru Om Malik put this well: Media companies are tho

Never let it be said that the automakers don’t listen to feedback, because when it comes to Ford’s clunky Sync platform, they got an earful. And guess what? Ford responded. This week the automaker introduced the latest and greatest version of its Sync infotainment system, and it looks great. It will make its debut on at least some Ford 2016 models, meaning it will be in the showroom in the fall of 2015, just months from now. The primary value proposition of the platform has l

There’s a tendency for some broadcasters to put too much faith in the idea that consumers will prefer traditional radio over the online variety because of scarce and expensive bandwidth. But the reality is that bandwidth is neither that scarce nor that expensive, when compared to the value derived from it. And one way to circumvent the limitations of your mobile phone’s bandwidth altogether is to access the net from another hotspot. Like, say, your car. That’s exactly Chevrol

Yesterday I wrote that some auto industry analysts believe radio needs to be easy to find and use on the new auto dashboard because ease of discovery and use will trump any discussion of how good or bad the actual content is. In other words, consumers are not likely to seek out great content they care about unless it’s first easy to find and use. While it’s certainly true that making anything easier to find and use promotes both discovery and use, is that even within radio’s

This past week I had a conversation with someone knowledgeable in the auto technology space: “The dash is getting crowded and complicated,” she argued, “and the harder to find a radio station is the less apt folks will be to listen to it.” “But if the content is compelling enough, they will seek it out,” I replied. “Ease of use trumps compelling content,” she argued back. “It has to be easy to find and use first, and some of these new dashboards don’t even have an FM/AM butto

Dear Radio Listeners: Apple and Google want you! Even (and perhaps especially) when you’re in your car. Here’s a video showing some of the navigation functionality of the “coming soon” iOS upgrade: But don’t imagine that the functions will be limited to maps and directions. From 9to5Mac: iOS in the Car is a feature that allows customers to attach an iOS device to a compatible car center console via either wireless protocols or over a USB cable. An iOS interface for managing M

It seems to me that radio is in a bit of paralysis by analysis when it comes to the “connected” auto dashboard. As we get lost in the details of what change is coming and how fast, we’re not focused nearly enough on what to do about it, given that such a large proportion of radio listening emanates from that very dashboard. We’re stuck in the theater of the moment. Consider the reality of the situation: The complexity of the new dashboard is overwhelming many consumers. What

In the race to exploit new digital opportunities, Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker has described three “consumer Internet ‘white spaces’ yet to be reimagined.” One of these was the “ear” and another was the car. And she describes the latter as “largely untapped.” Naturally, broadcasters are in a tizzy because one industry’s white space is another industry’s breadbasket. Indeed, roughly two-thirds of radio listening occurs away from home, largely in autos. What to do? What

All this fretting over the evolving car dashboard is so much ado about the wrong stuff. Okay…. A flood of new content is coming. Lots of it is already here. There is no way to keep it out because consumers don’t want it out. The primacy of radio on the car dash is officially a thing of the past. So let’s begin by accepting that fact. Further, being on new platforms in the new dash is fine, but we’re already on the platform that is most familiar and most used – the “radio” one

I always enjoy chatting with someone knee-deep in technology who is not “of radio” but understands radio and the larger world of audio (which, itself, is part of the larger world of media, but you get the idea). Rob Greenlee is – no exaggeration – a podcasting pioneer. Currently Content Manager, Podcasts on Windows Phone and Zune at Microsoft, Rob produces the audio journal “My Digital Life,” and he interviewed me about the future of radio and podcasting on and off the dashbo

You can climb down from the ceiling now, Mr. Broadcaster – it turns out new cars will feature FM/AM radios built-in for the foreseeable future (although certainly not forever). The logic of this should be obvious to us all, but particularly obvious for anyone who bothers to talk with consumers. And I did. Between March 9 and March 10 2013, I fielded a random, balanced, national online study of 1,000 consumers and asked how they feel about those radios in their cars – and how

Panic is in the streets following two events this week: First, a Mark Kassof study which revealed the unsurprising news that 83% of a sample of radio general managers and executives view Internet access in cars as “a threat” to “traditional radio,” (whatever that means). A threat? What about an opportunity, Mr. Broadcaster?! Your experiences can be delivered by digital means, too, after all. And if they’re worthy, magnetic digital experiences, there’s nothing but blue sky a

In the race to exploit new digital opportunities, Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker describes three “consumer Internet ‘white spaces’ yet to be re-imagined.” Two of them are the “ear” and the car. And she describes the latter as “largely untapped.” “Untapped” no more. Consider today’s automotive news headlines: General Motors Co. is expected to announce today a partnership with AT&T that will bring embedded 4G LTE mobile Internet access into most 2015 GM vehicles sold in th

So what’s in store for the auto dashboard of tomorrow? It may not be whatever’s on the drawing board in Detroit (or in the picture above). It may really be whatever’s in your pocket. So says venture capitalist John Backus: In-car electronics, standalone GPS, satellite radio, seatback DVD players and HD radio will quickly disappear, replaced only by the smartphone powering a dumb screen on the dashboard. In other words, argues Backus, YOU are the new dashboard. And when he say

There’s no doubt that technology is bringing new choices to an auto dashboard near you.  Nor is there any doubt that consumers will embrace and even demand those choices. It’s customary for broadcasters to freak out about this, as we stand by and watch radio’s hegemony over the dashboard under attack. The natural response is to fight technology with technology – to assume that your FM station must have all the doo-dads and whistles that Pandora has. What is the truth about ra