Collaboration between the broadcast industry and the automotive industry, key to the development of digital radio

Leaders from the broadcast and automotive sectors call for continued collaboration between both industries at the WorldDAB Automotive 2022 event, organized by WorldDAB this weekend in London.

Speakers highlighted the importance of working together to ensure that the radio remains central to the connected dashboard, and to continue offering the best possible audio experience to drivers.

The president of WorldDAB, Patrick Hannon, set the tone in his keynote speech, pointing out that DAB+ is now standard on 94% of new cars sold in Europe. "Users expect high-quality free radio to be a key feature. Our job is to deliver the best possible experience today and in the future," he said.

Martin Koch, head of infotainment platform management at CARIAD/VW Group, supported this statement. “DAB+'s position in the car has never been stronger than today, but FM could start to be in danger,” Koch said, noting that music and radio remain key in the car. “Automakers are interested in maintaining the key user cases of radio and
of radio and navigation are as simple as possible,” he added.

Sibyle Veil, general director of Radio France, made a passionate appeal to manufacturers and
suppliers. “Give radio stations easy, direct, one-touch access to the car's software on the screen,” he urged. "As a media company, we do not want our content to be curated and managed by a third party. Additionally, we need to have direct access to listeners to better understand our users and improve our content."

"Our goal is to offer the best possible quality to match the quality of their cars. The way to achieve this is to provide one-touch access to the best audio content providers, especially radio stations," added Veil.

Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, offered an overview from the manufacturing sector, noting that connectivity is growing in the vehicle fleet. “What will be seen is this continuous evolution of technology, increasing consumers and availability in the car,” he assured.

Hawes noted that this will increase potential driver distraction, and welcomed WorldDAB's new guidelines on driver distraction. “Safety is the number one priority for manufacturers,” he said.

Safety behind the wheel

Las directrices de WorldDAB sobre la distracción del conductor, recientemente lanzadas, se han elaborado con la aportación de expertos tanto del de la automoción y de la radiodifusión, para garantizar que las pantallas sean seguras para los conductores y proporcionen la información que los oyentes esperan ver en sus dispositivos digitales.

Estas directrices cubren cuatro áreas clave para los mensajes visuales en el vehículo: legibilidad, relevancia, frecuencia y legislación local.

En otras sesiones del WorldDAB Automotive 2022 se analizaron las prioridades futuras de ambos sectores, como la personalización y la tecnología de voz, incluido el reconocimiento del nombre de la emisora, y la mejora de la precisión de la búsqueda.

Por último, los ponentes también señalaron el papel clave que puede desempeñar la radio digital DAB+ en las emergencias. “Cuando se producen incidentes, la red de radiodifusión funciona porque tenemos más redundancia en cuanto a equipos, suministro de energía y alimentación de programas”, explicó Håvard Wien, de la noruega NRK.