Radio Disney Joins Ford Sync Dashboard

1-1-15

Radio Disney along with AccuWeather are putting themselves in the drivers seat of the connected car trend. Both are now offering their apps in a partnership with the Ford Sync's AppLink. AccuWeather will offer commuters hyper-localized weather forecasting in-dash and the Radio Disney smartphone app will stream 24/7 to the connected car. Both will be demoed at this years CES in Las Vegas opening January 6th. Disney is forging ahead with its plan to move Radio Disney to a digital only product following the company's 2014 announcement it would be selling most of its radio stations.

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Can Radio Continue To Dominate The Dashboard?

5-27-14
You've been hearing it for a while now: The automobile dashboard will become ever more connected, and radio will need to adapt. Well, that future is NOW. Cars are rolling off assembly lines right now with Internet connectivity and streaming audio already on the dash, and AM/FM radio is just one of the options consumers have to get their entertainment and information on the road.

The dashboard and connected car are changing consumer behaviors today. Learn what Apple, Google, and others have planned for the car, the ways technology impacts how users use their radio, and how your station must adapt in order to maintain your dominance -- and your revenue edge. At Convergence, coming up June 4-5 in California's Silicon Valley, hear from a panel of experts in radio, technology, and online audio on how the connected car will impact ad dollars and how we sell.

Your Moderator:
Fred Jacobs founded Jacobs Media 30 years ago, when he had the notion that Classic Rock could become a format spinoff from Album Rock.  Since then, Classic Rock has become the most successful ?new? radio format in the last three decades, and was listed as one of the top 35 most pivotal events in radio history by Radio & Records. Today, Fred is on the forefront of connecting radio with the mobile revolution with JacAPPS, his mobile app company. Over the past five years, JacAPPS has developed 850 apps. generating more than 20 million downloads, and entered into a partnership with the Ford Motor Co. to adapt apps for compatibility in the SYNC AppLink system.This past October, Jacobs Media partnered with Radio Ink and Valerie Shuman to produce DASH, the first-ever radio and automotive ?connected car? conference.

Doug Sterne is VP of audio sales at Pandora Media. He joined Pandora in 2008 to launch the audio ad product and sales team. Since then, he has directed the company's efforts to get measured and integrated into the ad industry's most popular media buying software platforms. Today he is integrally involved in Pandora's local sales efforts, leading the company's team of people who cultivate and respond to inbound advertising inquiries. Prior to Pandora, Doug served in executive management positions for industry-leading media companies like CBS and Clear Channel Radio.

Alan Taylor, CEO of Entertainment Radio Network, is an award-winning radio and TV host, a 30-year broadcast professional, and one of the most popular automobile aficionados in the business. In 1995 he founded Benchmark Entertainment, pioneering the business of creating radio shows as an extension of the magazines they represent; Benchmark orchestrated innovative partnerships with leading publishers to replicate their content on-air. Today Taylor partners with some of the nation's largest publishing houses, including Time Inc., Bonnier, and Rodale. At ERN, he hosts the popular weekend talk shows The Drive With Alan Taylor and Popular Science Radio. He's been a featured automotive expert in both TV and radio on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC and others.

Tobin Trevarthen is founder and CEO of Spatial Shift. He has created, managed, and sold over $1 billion worth of advertising-related programs over the course of his career. He recently formulated Spatial Shift as a high-end business-development and idea-launch company to continue his pioneering work in the connected consumer space, with a focus on the connected car. Before Spatial Shift, Trevarthen developed the monetization efforts for Aha, a revolutionizing connected radio service that is now integrated into 14 of the 30 global automakers across the world. Trevarthen developed and launched the first ever in-vehicle interactive promotion, with Quiznos in December 2013. He also pioneered the ?Signature Station?, enabling two-way interactivity between the automaker and the driver.

Roger Tsai is deputy general manager of media personalization & insights at Gracenote, driving the company's next-generation personalization and targeting initiatives, particularly in contextual and cross-media discovery. In his prior role in product strategy, Tsai expanded Gracenote's market focus to include social music data, TV content recognition, interactive program guides, and targeted advertising. Before joining Gracenote in 2009, Tsai served as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company where he served Fortune 500 clients in high-tech, retail, and health care.

Convergence 2014
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June 4-5
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
Silicon Valley
www.radioconvergence.com

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Sirius Wants Chair at Dashboard Table

5-1-13

New CEO James Meyer says he's reprioritizing resources at SiriusXM with an eye on the connected Dashboard. He says embedded connectivity is giving automakers a lot of options and its very important SiriusXM participate in the rollout of that technology. "We are moving a lot of our resources toward making that goal happen." Meyer said a lot has been said about the threat to SiriusXM from streaming. "That also gives us opportunity. In-car apps will provide initial integration."

Meyer also said the biggest threat to SiriusXM is terrestrial radio. "The music only business is going to be a tough business." SiriusXM is getting ready to launch two new channels, Comedy Central Radio and Entertainment Weekly Radio. "Music, news, sports, comedy, niche programming...a broad away of content is what we offer, no music only." 

More than 9,000 auto dealers now offer a free trial to SiriusXM when they sell a used car and Meyer says within a few years he expects more used cars to be sold with the service than new cars. Meyer says by the end of 2017 there should be 100 million cars on the road with SiriusXM and within ten years that number will be 150 million.

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Radio Is Not Entitled To The Dashboard

3-12-13
By Keith Berman

The back-and-forth over Eric Rhoads' column on radio's potential disappearance from the auto dashboard omits a very large portion of the argument: whether AM/FM radio actually still deserves a place in the dash, according to consumers and manufacturers. Radio has been a staple of in-car entertainment for so long that perhaps the industry feels it has earned the right to permanent real estate, but like any relationship where one party becomes complacent and the other party sees appealing options abound, nothing should be taken for granted.

Given the multitude of entertainment options that now surround AM/FM radio, people may or may not listen to the radio simply because it's there, much like the lack of guarantee that viewers will tune into broadcast TV networks with the hundreds of offerings from basic and premium cable channels that have evolved over the past decade or so. The issue facing radio is twofold: one is radio's perception of itself, and the other is what consumers actually look for in terms of content.

The first, radio's perception of itself, has to do with the marketing campaign that radio has enacted, proclaiming itself to be necessary and vital simply due to its position as ?live and local.? But is that really the case anymore? In many situations, voicetracking and syndication have made that claim moot. Merely having a transmitter in a city doesn't make you local; if that were the case, Sirius XM could proclaim it's local too because of its ground repeaters (an aspect of its technology that AM/FM radio vehemently protested).

Stations can say they're live and local all they want, but when they're running syndicated or voicetracked talent and the only thing live and/or local are the spots and occasional local cut-ins, there's not much local material distinguishing your product from another station hundreds of miles away airing the same show. If radio wants to make the case that it's necessary to the dashboard because it's live and local, then every station needs to have jocks in-studio 24/7 providing relevant, timely and local content, not just claim or pretend that they are.

The other aspect is whether consumers actually care about having live and local content. Does it matter to a listener that the show they're listening to is beamed in from hundreds of miles away if it's good content that they enjoy? Every weekday morning, local TV stations run syndicated morning shows like "Today" or "Good Morning America," and no one seems to argue that TV stations aren't "serving their local broadcast base" by airing a show from New York with occasional local traffic/weather/news cut-ins. The content is what matters to viewers.

We're living in a world where content is freely available from a huge number of sources worldwide thanks to the Internet, so people can seek out whatever they want to see or hear the most, making it a top priority for broadcast media to provide quality material, regardless of where it's from. If radio wants to deliver the best content possible in order to draw listeners ? and that content happens to be from another market, then radio needs to embrace that and be the conduit for the most engaging content, but not pretend that it's coming from that particular station's studios.

As Fred Jacobs replied, this is radio's game to lose. The industry can either provide appealing content that consumers want and keep its longstanding place in the dashboard based on its own merits, or it can dither around and perhaps lose center-square placement to other options that consumers find more attractive. 

Keith Berman is a former editor of Radio & Records and co-founder of RAMP: Radio and Music Pros. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not reflect those of any current or former employer. He can be reached at keithberman@gmail.com. Follow Keith on Facebook www.facebook.com/keithberman

(3/12/2013 11:47:17 PM)
Radio has become complacent and short-sighted.
The industry must make a decision to invest in itself and its local markets or lose!
(3/12/2013 11:47:15 PM)
Radio has become complacent and short-sighted.
The industry must make a decision to invest in itself and its local markets or lose!
(3/12/2013 6:35:03 PM)
Last national survey I saw (a few months ago) showed 92% of Americans using radio and average of 19 hours per week.

What planet does your "guest columnist" reside upon?

Not earth, I think!

If a local station does what we all KNOW it should----connect people to their community---that is a bond that NO "on-line" or "new-tech" can break.

To some people, if it wasn't invented yesterday, it is not relevant.

Those individuals are misguided and just plain wrong. And that is very "kind".

(3/12/2013 1:34:31 PM)
Even if this (possibly manufactured and hyped) fiasco is resolved satisfactorily, Music-Radio is still left holding an empty sack.

The multiple comments on this and other articles attest to the awareness of radio management that we are so screwed on the content-side and are, in fact, under-presenting to audiences and over-presenting to advertisers. That most of our spots have any impact at all is almost.... supernatural. :)

(3/12/2013 11:11:45 AM)
@David Stern: How many of those local radio stations turned over their signals to simulcast TV stations or cable networks during Superstorm Sandy? (Answer: a fair amount.) Radio wasn't providing vital information to local residents, it was merely acting as a conduit for someone else's vital information.

You can argue that radio is accessible once the power goes out and TV isn't, but I wonder how many people actually have standalone battery-powered radios in their homes.

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(DIGITAL) Broadcasters' Guide To The Car Dashboard

1-23-2013

One of the bigger announcements coming out of CES last week was from the Ford Motor Company saying that they have opened up their dashboard to app developers everywhere who want to enable their apps for in-vehicle use. Not just news for radio broadcasters, the newly announced Ford Developer Program was named CES? ?Best in Automotive? by Engadget. Now, Ford?s Developer Program opens up their dashboard for any broadcaster or app developer to achieve in-vehicle connectivity. Broadcasters can apply at developer.ford.com.
Over 1,000 developers have signed up in the first three days the Ford link was open. In addition to your ability to interface directly with Ford via the link above, the very first authorized development partner on the developer site is JacApps, so Ford is also giving you this resource if you?d rather go that route.
Ford?s Scott Burnell, Global Lead for Business Development & Partner Management had this advice for radio broadcasters: ?Go to the link and create a profile for yourself. You?ll see the program overview, what we?re looking for, what it requires to work with us, and what is appropriate content. In addition to your current radio app, Ford invites innovation. Broadcasters can now create new applications for the vehicle based on these new resources that allow for innovation.?
Burnell also clarifies how your radio app appears on the car dashboard. ?We don?t actually put the apps in the car dashboard. Your station app is still running on the user?s smart phone device. Ford simply locks out the user?s device screen and then we extend command and control from the application running on the mobile device to the vehicle controls such as voice command, steering wheel buttons, and radio buttons. This takes the device out of the hand of the driver in the vehicle, keeping drivers? eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.? 
The message from Ford is loud and clear. They hope broadcasters will embrace technology and own their listeners on this new platform. Listeners and car drivers both use technology and radio, so this is a beautiful marriage of radio and vehicle that is very natural. Broadcasters need to first embrace the shift in radio listening via streaming and mobile apps, but then this is a way to keep listeners listening in a responsible way in the vehicle.
Also, through a station?s mobile app, time shifting of content via podcasts or other archived contact becomes a real opportunity. As Burnell said, the driver might say ?mobile apps/WRIF/Drew and Mike? and the next thing you hear are podcasts from Drew and Mike on WRIF. Radio time shifting in the car is here.
One tidbit that was lost in the excitement is that Ford has also opened their dashboard API to all other automobile manufacturers, which has received tremendous early response from other OEMs. Therefore, an industry-wide solution is now possible if Ford?s AppLink is embraced by the other automakers.
Given Ford?s leadership position in telematics, that was only advanced even more by their new AppLink program, broadcasters would be wise to understand Ford?s AppLink and work with the market leader. Ford?s latest slogan, ?Go Further,? couldn?t be better named for broadcasters.

Mike Henry is the CEO of Paragon Media Strategies and can be reached at mhenry@paragonmediastrategies.com

(1/23/2013 4:47:39 AM)
What about Bob Struble's shit technology?

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Dashboard Danger. Government to The Rescue?

6-7-2012

The Government may be coming along just in time to save AM/FM radio from becoming extinct from the automobile dashboard. During a panel at Convergence, moderated by Greater Media's Buzz Knight, several automakers emphasized how important the safety issue was. They appeared concerned that the government might step in if it appeared the dashboard was becoming more of distraction. Well, on Thursday, Transportation Secratary Ray LaHood (pictured) held a press conference and hinted regulators may draft specific guidelines regarding an automobile's infotainment system. He called texting and cellphone use "a national epidemic."

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that 3,092 people were killed in crashes related to driver distraction in 2010. Lahood said, ?Americans have gotten into very dangerous behavior with their cell phones and their texting devices to think they can use them behind the wheel of a car. People continue to be killed and injured despite the fact these deaths are 100 percent preventable. I?ve met with every car executive and talked with them about what they can do to help us with technology they?re putting in cars that may become a distraction to drivers. We hope to examine voice commands for hands-free functions too.?

Consumer demand is forcing automakers to develop dashboard systems that are an extension o their smartphones. In the current issue of Radio Ink magazine, Vice President of Advanced Technology at Toyota Jon Bucci said Toyota puts a lot of stock in what customers tell them.

"Toyota's view is that the voice of the consumer is critical. Basically, what we are getting is, 'Give us choice, let us make the decision. Don't stand in the way.' We are taking it a step further, to try to curate the environment so whatever we're pulling from the customers phone can be displayed in a manner fitting for a moving vehicle."

LaHood says, ?We want to make sure they understand that the ability to download Facebook, the ability to access information while you?re driving the car is not exactly a safe way to drive. There have to be ways for car companies to address these issues. I?ve met with every car executive and talked with them about what they can do to help us with technology they?re putting in cars that may become a distraction to drivers.?

Earlier this year, the Transportation Department issued voluntary guidelines, recommending that no task for drivers take longer than two seconds, and that cars be stopped and in park before drivers can enter navigation commands or use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The chance anyone even knew about those voluntary guidelines is slim to none. Just take a look at passing cars every day on the streets of America. Not to mention, it's virtually impossible to even scan for your favorite radio station in two seconds or less. LaHood is also calling on the 11 states that have not banned texting and driving to do so.

Send feedback on this article directly to Ed Ryan or leave your comments below.

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Bushnell, Curley and The Dashboard Kick Off Convergence Day One

6-5-2012

Many of radio's most innovative minds have gathered in Santa Clara, California for Convergence 12, Radio Ink's annual 2-day Internet conference. This year Atari founder Nolan Bushnell (pictured) was the opening keynote speaker. Bushnell has come a long way from his days developing the game pong. And he shared oodles of wisdom with attendees. Bushnell, who was a mentor to Steve Job, told the audience that a college degree is right up there with toilet paper, as far as its worth. He said the reason Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, which he also founded, worked was because "we only hired enthusiasm." Bushnell said, "drink from a fire hose whenever you can and push the envelope."

Rob Curley, who has pulled many well know newspapers kicking and screaming into the digital world told Convergence attendees to understand the ecosystem and know what the audience wants. He said you can't just move a product to the web. You need to focus on relevance, build a sense of community and protect your community. Curley also said you should find a way to give listeners something they never expected and find a way to "wink" at your listeners, meaning produce humorous local content they would enjoy.

Convergence also focused on The Digital Dashboard on day one. And if you thought it was challenging for a radio station to figure out digital, it isn't much easier for the automotive industry. Not only does the technology change quickly, the automotive manufacturers have to worry about safety. Jon Bucci of Toyota said this is very tough. "We are in a very challenging time right now and getting it right with the consumer and the local dealers is top priority."

Tuesday will be filled with many more exciting panels and Rob Glaser will be our closing keynote speaker.
Follow us all day long on Twitter by using the hashtag #RICV
and see picture from the show on our Facebook page

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Dashboard Delivery is Radio's Biggest Advantage.

5-18-2012

When the most cutting edge minds meet in Santa Clara June 4th and 5th at Convergence 2012, a big topic of conversation will be the digital dashboard. Long gone are the days when vehicles roll off the assembly line with only an AM/FM stereo and CD player in the dash. Automobile manufacturers have recognized the importance of technology, to the consumer, and are dedicated to giving their customers everything they want. And, what they want is more. In the upcoming issue of Radio Ink magazine, Senior Group Manager for Blue Link at Hyundai Michael Deitz said what consumers see - and expect on the dash - has become a major factor in deciding on the purchase of a car. And auto manufacturers also believe the way radio will compete with new technology is to get with the program when it comes to HD radio.

New research from Mark Kassof & Co. reveals that radio?s availability in vehicles is its biggest edge over new audio technology such as Pandora. But is radio without the benefits of HD enough? Pandora listeners were asked: ?What is it about radio that makes it better than Pandora?? Availability in cars and trucks was volunteered by 13%...more than any other response. Closely related, 5% indicated that radio is available and accessible everywhere. And 6% find radio more convenient and easier to use than Pandora. You can read Kassof's entire study HERE

Kassof has done two previous studies on Pandora as part of his ListenerThink series, and every one leads him to more questions.  "The one we did last month indicated a strong preference for Pandora over radio among its listeners. Radio has real benefits to sell in its battle with Pandora. It has a number of advantages over Pandora. Marketing these edges it has over Pandora is the key to contending with it, in my opinion. And by "marketing," I mean promotion and product. Radio has to deliver on those aspects where listeners give it the edge -- like localism, information and personality, to name just three.

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Hyundai's Dietz says getting HD radio into the mainstream is going to be vital to compete on the dash. ?I think it really comes down to having album art as well as information about the song and the artist available and having richer content in its delivery. HD radio currently offers that as a mechanism because that is one of the areas where traditional radio is seen, really as inferior, among people who really are listening to audio. If they are using their iPod or using Pandora, they have much richer user interface design. I think that is the area where radio is catching up at this point. We offer Pandora and we are still looking at iHeartRadio and if that?s appropriate for our audience. I think you probably see more diversification when it comes to audio listening as we quote unquote evolve. It wasn't that long ago that we just had AM radio and then evolved to AM/FM. HD radio is another way that it is evolving. You also have satellite radio. We have Sirius XM that we offer in our vehicles. We made that standard as a brand some years ago. We responded really, to market demand and added in Pandora. I think you will see more and more of these internet based radios also coming into the vehicle.?"

And, Dietz says the infotainment on the dash, while maybe not as important as gas mileage, has become a trigger point. ?I would say that it is now becoming expected as a cost of entry. I also think it's become maybe a purchase trigger, where consumers will decide if car A doesn't have it, then they will go with car B. They expect to have a high level of technology in the vehicle and they expect that it be robust enough to be operating correctly, and also be easy to operate. I think consumer are really smart. They expect that they know that they have to drive first and then utilize their entertainment.?

Kassof tells Radio Ink, the Radio industry has plenty to worry about. "Because the very aspects of radio that give it an edge over Pandora  are aspects of radio that have been watered down and taken away. Major groups are cutting, cutting and cutting some more...which may help the short-term bottom line, but certainly not the product. Many stations aren't as local as they used to be.  Many don't provide the information and community connection that they used to.  Many have dumped personalities (and personality right along with it). So at the very time radio is most challenged by alternatives, many stations are relinquishing the very aspects of radio that its challengers can't duplicate!  Face it, if all this just comes down to who plays the most music, that's a losing battle for radio, long-term."

(5/18/2012 1:28:52 PM)
With the rash of recent pro-HD Radio articles and "studies", iBiquity appears to be in real trouble. Also, the recent push to get HD Radio into cell phones is a good indicator, too. I have also read that the automakers are having all sorts of technical problems with HD Radio. Since multicasting has been a bust for HD proponents, all bets are now on that silly Artist Experience, which most stations haven't even implemented, and it will never work properly. Outside of the glossy HD Radio paint, consumers just want better content on their favorite analog stations. Consumers have shown complete apathy towards HD Radio, and that is why iBiquity is trying to force it through the automakers. HD Radio is a seriously flawed technology and nothing will fit it. HD Radio has just been a huge distraction and embarrassment for the radio industry, and I'm sure the butt of many jokes.
(5/18/2012 11:52:35 AM)
Earth to other Old White Guys- if you are 20 years old you could care less how much your data plan costs. You don't have a land line, you might not even have cable, but you live on your cell phone 24/7.

Seriously, $20 dollars for extra data matters to a 20yo? Only in your dreams.

(5/18/2012 11:42:01 AM)
I like Pandora. At home. Or when my computer is connected to the network via Wi-Fi. I have decent external speakers.

In the car, forget it. I'm not using up my precious wireless data on streaming Pandora. I'm too cheap to be willing to pay for 30MB/hour for Pandora.

I connect an iPod Touch, via Bluetooth, to my car radio.

When wireless data is plentiful and cheap Pandora will flourish.

My next vehicle will have HD Radio. I can live without it for now.

(5/18/2012 11:32:23 AM)
Hyundai thinks that album art is important to drivers?! Give me strength!

The fact is that HD Radio is becoming mainstream, but not as fast as iBiquity or HD stations would like. The advantages are the sound quality and the additional content choices--album art is pretty far down the list.

Free broadcast radio has weathered the proliferation of non-free alternatives very well. Look how poorly satellite radio is faring. Pandora costs you data if used over 3G/4G.

(5/18/2012 11:25:11 AM)
You don't need a study to see the advantages of terrestrial radio; look at how poorly Pandora and is doing financially.

I have HD Radio in my Toyota. Advantages: 1) no ads on HD2. 2. Genres on HD2 not available on analog/HD1. 3. Superior sound quality on HD, with no static. Negative: reception can be spotty.

If not for HD I would connect my smart phone and listen to music from a MicroSD card. I'm not buying more wireless data to listen to Pandora!

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What Will Really Be On The 'Digital Dashboard'?

April 17, 2012

Buzz Knight, VP of program development at Greater Media, will lead the opening panel, "Radio: A 2015 View -- The Digital Dashboard and Beyond," at Radio Ink's Convergence 12, set for June 4-5 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley. Also on the panel will be Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs and Toyota Motor Sales VP/Advanced Technology Dept. Jon Bucci, with more to be announced.

The digital dashboard is already reinventing how consumers access and use media in automobiles. It's no longer about the future, it is about today.

Knight says, "We all need to spend time thinking about the future of our business. We need actual time spent-- not just a couple of quick, 20,000-foot-view meetings. Attending Convergence 12, in the heart of Technology Central, Silicon Valley, is a perfect place to invest your time. Convergence 12 will bring industry thought leaders together with thought leaders outside our industry together to stimulate your brain .You'll get a bird's-eye view of the dizzying pace of change as it relates to radio's delivery via the dashboard with the panel 'Radio: A 2015 View -- The Digital Dashboard and Beyond.' Fred Jacobs, Jon Bucci, and more panelists to be announced will make sense of it all."

Get more information and register for Convergence at www.radioinkconvergence.com.

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