Consumers Still Want AM/FM Radios In Their Cars

[radiofan]

Consumers Still Want AM/FM Radios In Their Cars Writes Forbes
April 9, 2015 at 4:39 AM (PT)
From All Access

In a recent article in FORBES, CHRISTOPHER VERSACE writes, "advances in electronic technologies have transformed the automobile by increasing safety, reliability and convenience for the American consumer. Despite these advances, which include all electric vehicles like the ones from TESLA and developments on assisted driving technologies from GOOGLE, MOBILEYE, VOLKSWAGEN AG and others, the drivers of new car demand have remained intact. The average consumer still wants a quality car, one that does not cost too much to get to destinations and one that has entertainment choices including the AM/FM car radio."

VERSACE has positive news for radio, noting "despite the technological advances that are making the car a digital hub on wheels, the consumer’s love affair with AM/FM radio remains. The numbers of radio listeners are staggering. More Americans listen to AM/FM radio each week than use FACEBOOK. Nearly 60% of the population listens to the radio on a daily basis and nearly 85% of the American people report listening to the radio at least once a week."

Why has radio remained so popular? The article notes, "the ongoing reasons for America’s love affair with the radio stations in their cars varies. Some listen to AM/FM radio for the music. With so many listeners, even as different mediums and technology have changed the landscape, getting a song played on terrestrial radio is the quickest and surest way to stardom. For those looking to sell products, the sheer size of the audience makes radio advertising one of the most effective ways to market goods and services. And for local news and information, there is nothing like broadcast radio. It’s not like satellite radio will provide you with a local weather forecast. A new poll by the firm IPSOS confirms that while some consumers are demanding changes to the car’s infotainment system, consumers want AM and FM radio to remain the heart and soul of their car entertainment. When 1,000 adults were sampled and asked about their car audio preferences, 91% said they desire typical car radio with 9% preferring an app-based system. Per the data, 84% of respondents listen to AM/FM radio while relatively new systems like SIRIUS/XM, PANDORA and SPOTIFY came in at 22%, 18% and 7%, respectively. Finally, when asked about their preferences for entertainment options in their next car, 80% of consumers chose AM/FM over CD players, connected smartphones and other forms of audio entertainment."

Read the full article here