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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out with great news and announcements of a price hike. Radio One's Barry Mayo said there are signs auto is coming back. Well, if the GM numbers are any indication of what "coming back" means, he may be right. GM posted a net profit of $2.5 billion for the second quarter, nearly double the $1.3 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue grew 19 percent to $39.4 billion. CEO Dan Akerson said "It was a good quarter and another step in our journey of sustained, profitable growth" during a conference call.