As more than 300 executives from the automotive and broadcasting industries gathered in Prague to discuss the global future of radio in vehicles, WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst emphasized the “relentless” nature of radio and how it must be preserved.
Bierhorst commented, “We all have to pull together to ensure that [radio] remains at the heart of the dashboard, in the best quality possible.”
US broadcasters have spent the past year fighting for AM radio in Washington, DC, with those efforts mirrored abroad. While electric vehicle manufacturers efforts to remove over-the-air radio, the medium maintains a significant share of in-car audio consumption, recognized for its reliability and critical role during emergencies.
Tomas Granryd from Swedish Radio took the stage at WorldDAB Automotive to present “The Playbook” project he conceived with the European Broadcasting Union. This initiative aims to ensure radio’s prominence in the connected car environment through a three-pronged strategy. The strategy emphasizes maintaining traditional broadcast radio accessibility, enhancing internet radio services, and integrating voice commands for radio operations in vehicles.
“The Playbook” proposes that automakers should ensure that over-the-air (OTA) radio is prominently featured and aesthetically pleasing on dashboards. This approach intends to secure radio’s position in cars by ensuring that broadcasts are easy to find, use, and visually appealing.
While the majority of speakers were from Europe, WorldDAB Automotive saw more cross-continental collaboration and inspiration, with NAB EVP of Industry Affairs and Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs April Carty-Sipp highlighting how broadcast radio continues to hold a dominant position in the US, despite an increasingly cluttered dashboard environment.
The WorldDAB Summit will be held on November 14 in Zagreb, Croatia.
