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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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,” […]
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 […]
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 […]
I wrote this originally for NetNewsCheck and it is excerpted here with their permission. Go here for the full article. 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. […]
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 […]
