Today Radio Ink reported that Pandora is being dropped from Toyota’s dash display. The report was based on an email sent to Toyota Entune users by the carmaker. Is this dire for Pandora? Should radio be celebrating? No. And no. I own a late model Toyota and I received that email. First, anyone who is forced to suffer Toyota’s miserable Entune entertainment system knows it’s easily the worst thing about their Toyota which, fortunately, can be easily circumvented by accessing t

Well the ratings are in, and the revival of the classic sitcom Roseanne is a huge hit: The first two episodes of Roseanne, a full hour at the top of the ABC lineup, won the night by both adults 18-49 and total viewers. The show averaged a 5.1 rating in the key demo and 18.1 million viewers, rising from the first half hour to the next. The first number alone is enough to make Roseanne the highest-rated regularly scheduled scripted show of the last few seasons, since Empire at

Everybody loves AM radio, right? Everybody needs AM radio, right? Hmm. Maybe not. Imagine a world where a new auto model dispenses with AM radio, but even so experiences blockbuster consumer demand. Of course, I’m talking about Elon Musk’s forthcoming Tesla Model 3: Elon Musk, during a conference call hosted by Goldman Sachs a few days ago, articulated that annual demand for the Model 3 could eventually surpass 700,000 units. As a point of reference, the cumulative number of

Every broadcaster is on the hunt for non-traditional revenue, right? Everyone wants to leverage their amazing audience attention and focus that attention on money-making opportunities that go beyond spots. Well, here’s a groundbreaking opportunity for you to do just that. October. It’s the season of Halloween. It’s also the season where local haunted attractions and Halloween stores want to spend money on radio. If you’re located in proximity to the big parks, then it’s a big

For years now, many in the radio industry have viewed the challenges they face from technology and consumer trends all wrong. They have seen it from the perspective of the radio industry, not the consumer. The latest example is illustrated in this article, titled: “As TuneIn Continues Subscription Push; Where Does AM/FM Go?” Setting up the argument: TuneIn, the one time aggregator that built its brand on the backs off making it easy to find streams for broadcast radio before

This one is going to upset some of you, so get ready…. Recently I did some research where listeners were asked what platforms they listened to and where they listened to them. One respondent, a 40’ish woman with a teenaged son, indicated that her son would never listen radio “because he’s always wearing those headphones attached to his mobile phone.” At first, I couldn’t understand why she viewed this as an obstacle to listening to radio, since radio can run through those sam

Inside media’s data-driven future. And… Here’s how advertisers ignore data. Plus, rants and raves about overt messaging and suspension of disbelief, Disney’s new Star Wars Land, and how Suave fooled a bunch of beauty influencers into thinking it was luxury haircare – but how the joke may be on Suave. It’s episode 62 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. This episode is brought to you by StackAdapt,  an omnichannel digital adv

I have written extensively about the challenges radio will have in cars with a dashboard which is built to sync with Apple Carplay and Android Auto. I have also written a lot about what happens to radio when cars drive themselves (hint: It gets ugly). But there’s another force out there and it’s a force in the other direction. And that force is your own voice. Ford has announced an integration between their Sync platform and Amazon’s Alexa voice control system: [Starting] thi

Cue the panic in the radio streets. Facebook is moving into the audio space by making available a publishing tool called “Live Audio.” “Should you be worried?” asks Radio Ink (which should be in a position to answer that question rather than ask it). First, let’s acknowledge the utter inevitability of this announcement. Facebook’s job is to extract dollars from potential advertisers who value the platform’s virtually infinite and addressable audience and want to reach them in

I love “future of radio” discussions, even though the premise of the phrase is completely wrong. Radio people care about “the future of radio” – listeners don’t. Indifference to what listeners really care about is why Clear Channel didn’t acquire Pandora when it was bargain-priced. It’s why there are many podcasts that sound like radio shows and enjoy radio-sized audiences but have never played on a radio station. The issue isn’t about the “future of radio” per se, but rather

If you’re waiting for a new music format – a knight in shining armor – to save your flagging ratings, then you will be waiting for the rest of your professional career. Because there never will be one ever again. What’s the next big new format? Radio has been asking that question forever. Most recently, the answer was Classic Hip Hop. Is it the next big thing? Maybe not (from Radio Ink): If you listened to Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins on his earnings call you might come to th

If ever there was a brand built on proprietary content, that brand is ESPN. Across all platforms, ESPN Audio offers more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually, reaching nearly 24 million listeners per week on more than 450 stations. Traug Keller is ESPN’s Senior Vice President, Production, Business Divisions, and he leads three business units at the company: ESPN Audio, ESPN Local and the ESPN Talent Office. For ESPN Audio, Traug oversees all aspects of the busi

So last week I penned a strong piece suggesting that the radio industry drop PPM. The argument was stimulated by the discovery that Nielsen households can contain up to 16 meters. For me, this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. The piece sparked a firestorm and almost a thousand Facebook shares, not because my points were so salient (although I hope they were) but because there does not seem to exist a single PPM subscriber who considers themselves satisfie

Valerie Geller is a talent coach second to none. She works worldwide, coaching personalities in podcasting, radio, and television. In this standout Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, I talk with Valerie about how to coach and develop great talent and where to find the future of audio talent. Among the questions we address: How can talent communicate more powerfully? How can talent tell stories without making it “all about me?” How to sustain engagement over a period o

Sarah van Mosel is Chief Commercial Officer for Acast, a tech platform that helps podcast creators profit, helps audiences find great content, and helps advertisers reach engaged listeners. Much has been said about the rise in podcast usage, but not nearly as much has been said about the rise in interest among advertising for podcasting’s burgeoning audience and how the podcast ecosystem is rising to meet – and create – that demand. Sarah begins with an overview of the podcas

Millennials are the future, but how do they really use audio platforms: Radio, online radio, podcasting, etc? And how do these platforms fit into their fast-changing lives? We recruited a special panel of Millennials at hivio 2016 so you could hear from 20-somethings themselves, and some of what attendees heard was shocking. When asked if anyone has an actual radio in their home, one panelist compared that idea to owning a laserdisc player! Among the questions these Millennia

hivio – the audio future festival – opens in ONE WEEK, and you can watch the whole thing stream LIVE. hivio exists to gather executives from across the audio spectrum in one place at one time to touch the future. Commercial and public radio, online radio, podcasting, agencies, platforms, apps, and more. All mixing and mingling with folks they are unlikely to run into at any other event. And onstage we have interviews with and presentations from the movers and shakers in the s

Is NPR’s future all used up? And… What happens when Buzzfeed loses its buzz? It’s episode 41 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, rants and raves about pandering politicians, Domino’s Pizza’s new app that orders your pizza in ten second, thoughts on the Social Media Marketing World conference and some closing words about the legendary Prince. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button

Remember when buying a new car meant more than buying an entertainment system that also happened to contain wheels? In other words, remember when you bought the car, not the entertainment system? No longer. Watch this TV spot for the new Kia Optima. It compares the entertainment system “in most mid-size sedans” to a Rubiks Cube. The solution to that problem? Apple CarPlay! So doing stuff via your entertainment system in your car “is as easy as it is on your iPhone.” This stra

Surprise! Distribution is KING! And… Time is running out for Big Media. It’s episode 39 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, rants and raves about an app that allows you to exchange your time for money, the ridiculous idea that movie review ratings should correlate to box office performance, and Neil Patel’s amazing Instagram experiment. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below