Don’t count broadcast radio out yet. When it comes to in-car entertainment, radio’s live and local nature means that it’s still “made for the drive.”
This good news was delivered by Frank Nowack of Ford Motor Company at WorldDAB Automotive 2025. WorldDAB, the international association promoting the DAB/DAB+ digital radio transmission standard globally, held the event on June 19 at the Palacio Neptuno hotel in Madrid, Spain.
Nowack is Ford’s function owner of broadcast radio. Speaking during the session, “Broadcast radio: live, local and made for the drive,” he reinforced the idea that radio’s linear, local and live strengths power compelling drive time content that is tailor-made for today’s in-car listeners.
“Live radio continues to be a valued feature in modern vehicles,” Nowack said. He attributed this to local radio’s reputation for reliability and familiarity to listeners.
This reputation, he explained, is built on easy access and a good variety of content, including speech and music. Local radio also offers live warnings, traffic and news information, and broad over-the-air coverage. Nowack said this gives it an edge over national broadcasts, especially those accessible through online on-demand services.
While national services might allow for “Radio Australia listening in Cologne,” Nowack said that is of no help when you need the latest weather and traffic reports.
As a result, in-car radio remains the most effective way to provide “spoken information and warnings to the user,” said Nowack. “The same information might be available on navigation systems, but possibly not in the current scope.”
Nowack said he is also not convinced that the interactive “connected radio” will dim conventional broadcast radio’s audience appeal. “I don’t understand why that should influence anything in the relationship.” He said connected radio is just another way of getting audio content to listeners. As such, “the relationship itself [between listeners and content providers] will be unchanged.”
But does research actually support the notion that consumers still want in-car radios? According to Nowack, the answer is yes.
“We do have insights to support the demand for traditional or digital radio features in our new cars,” he stated. “They’re made available mainly by broadcasters’ associations, and it’s clearly mentioned that the overall listening time in a vehicle is nearly unchanged. As well, 80 percent or more [of people surveyed] say they would not buy a car if it did not have broadcast radio.”
Nowack was similarly unconcerned about broadcast radio being swamped by other features in increasingly complex car infotainment systems. He said that broadcast radio will remain part of the driver’s daily routine as long as it is easy to access and provides worthwhile content.
That being said, “it’s important that radio broadcasters keep improving their audio content and well-known functionalities like traffic announcements and slideshows, so they don’t confuse customers,” Nowack said.
Meanwhile, he said governments can help reinforce radio’s position in the car by ensuring it’s easy to use. “One of the issues with digital radio is that, with the increase of stations around the world, the interpretation of the standards is getting more and more divided,” he noted. “We need to educate everyone and keep pressure on so that all are interpreting these standards in the same direction.”
Frank Nowack’s closing words: Even in today’s web-dominated world, “broadcast radio is still the way to go,” he said. To maximize its continued chances of success, “broadcasters and car manufacturers need to work together to provide a satisfying user experience with DAB radio.”