If the radio industry is to convince automakers to keep AM radio in the dashboard, the global car market may require an international effort. While U.S. broadcasters continue to push for legislation that would require all dashboards to feature AM/FM radio, similar efforts are underway in Europe.
The European Broadcasting Union is reportedly seeking meetings with the big carmakers there, including BMW, Volvo and Mercedes. The EBU is looking to lobby for all cars to continue featuring broadcast radio as part of their entertainment systems.
“Radio is thriving in Europe. In Europe, listeners choose radio about 70% of the time. More than all other audio sources combined. People love it. Just press a button, and it’s there,” boasts an EBU-produced video promoting broadcasting. Similar to the arguments made by broadcasters in the U.S., the radio industry in Europe touts the role radio plays in providing live programming during times of crisis — as well as the high level of trust that broadcasters have. The EBU says many carmakers are already making it “hard to access the radio” by burying the radio button in a “complex journey” of swipes and taps. “Customers need carmakers to make it easy for them,” the video says.
Developed as part of an EBU-wide initiative, a Connected Car Playbook aims to ensure that audiences can continue to easily find and listen to the content they love in connected vehicles. The Playbook represents a common, clear map of what is required from all parties involved. As part of their stated roadmap, the EBU’s Connected Cars Group aims to meet with the big car brands this summer and follow up with the tech companies behind some of the biggest in-dash entertainment systems, including Google, Amazon and Apple.
“Radio is by a good margin the most loved and used medium in the car,” says Tomas Granryd, Head of Digital Partnerships at Sweden’s Sveriges Radio. In a blog post, he says by working together, broadcasters from across Europe have created a clear map of what is required to ensure that audiences can continue to easily find and listen to the content they love. “Radio, whether live or on-demand, music or news, must continue to be prominent and accessible for future audiences in cars,” he says.
Even as the EBU efforts are not specifically tied to AM, it could help American efforts to convince several brands to reverse course with their plans to voluntarily return AM to their vehicles. European brands including BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen have already started to move forward with plans to remove AM access in models they sell in the U.S.
“The automakers have every interest in ensuring that every consumer when they step into the automobile is a customer for all that media and that they are monetizing the consumer,” National Association of Broadcasters President Curtis LeGeyt said. “Broadcast radio sits outside of that. And so what we’re asking here is to put that accessibility of broadcast radio, especially in times of disaster, above their bottom lines and those paid subscription and data services,” he said an interview with The Hill in May.
In Washington, the biggest challenge in the summer months prior to Election Day is capturing lawmaker attention. There is broad, bipartisan support for the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (H.R. 3413), which would still require AM in cars but would give some automakers more time to comply. Support has grown in recent days to 255 House members saying they are onboard, with Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) joining the list of co-sponsors. And in the Senate, 62 lawmakers back the effort.
Supporters say some fine-tuning is being done to the bill. Similar to the Senate bill, a new House version will require the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule requiring access to AM broadcast stations in motor vehicles. If they don’t, carmakers could be fined. And prior to the effective date of the rule, manufacturers that do not include AM would be required to put a warning label on vehicles. Automakers would have at least two years to comply with the rule, although some manufacturers that produce fewer than 40,000 passenger cars for sale in the U.S. would have at least four years to meet the requirement. The previous version of the House bill introduced last May did not include any timetable for when carmakers would need to meet the AM mandate.
Comments