TuneIn Radio is busy aggregating internet radio stations from around the world, and Rob Deichert, the company’s chief revenue officer, was in high spirits when we met at CES late last week. Deichert was talking about new partnerships with EV makers VinFast and Fisker, as well as component makers Harman International, Tom-Tom and Ford spin-off Visteon.
TuneIn already works with a who’s who of other electric car manufacturers like Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar-Land Rover, Rivian, Stellantis (parent to Alpha Romeo, Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram, Fiat, Maserati and Peugeot). and Tesla.
“The average car in the U.S. is 12 years old, so tens of millions of people are considering their next car purchase and are seriously considering electric vehicles,” Deichert said. “We think the inflection point for EVs and TuneIn is just a few years away.”
The large touchscreens inside modern electric vehicles (this one from the VinFast VF 6 compact SUV) are ideal for selecting internet radio stations to listen to while on the road.
Jonathan Takiff/The Foundry
Everywhere you looked at the huge car zone at CES, there were electric cars and only electric cars; Rides feature large, tablet-style infotainment screens that work well with a bunch of one-touch menus that organize TuneIn’s content by favorites, formats and geographic location.
Internet radio is attractive to EV builders because the tuners that pick up terrestrial AM radio stations are highly susceptible to interference from the electric motors that power the cars. The content available on AM radio – talk shows, sports, news, religious and ethnic/minority programming – is as popular as ever. And EV manufacturers can Xperi Inc. As a communications engineer explained in a recent New York Times article, solve the interference problem by using filters, better shielded cables, and paying attention to where various electrical components are placed inside the car (Xperi developed the HD Radio platform for Xperi. AM and FM).
However, putting this programming online not only eliminates the problem of interference, but also opens up a world of opportunities for manufacturers to sell subscriptions, including the mobile 5G service needed to bring something like TuneIn to your dashboard.
Thus, automakers including Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Tesla, Volkswagen, and Volvo have removed AM radios from their EVs’ in-cabin entertainment systems, as have 8-track, cassette, and CD players. Ford still offers an AM radio in the Mustang Mach-E, but will soon drop it from the F-150 Lightning electric pickup.
Electric car manufacturers are attracted to internet radio aggregator services like TuneIn. We checked out this VinFast VF 6 compact SUV at CES.
Jonathan Takiff/The Foundry
TuneIn isn’t the only option out there, streaming services like iHeart Radio, Radio Player Live, and Radio.net all offer a means of getting old local radio into the car. TuneIn also serves up audio feeds from Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fox Radio News and MSNBC, “offered with fewer or no ads and more news copy than you’ll see on the TV versions,” plus “new additions like Court TV.” and classic episodes of Jeopardy, cramming three shows into one hour.”
Many of TuneIn’s 70 million (monthly) global listeners turn to either the free, ad-supported version or the $9.99 one-time paid TuneIn Pro, which has fewer ads. If you’re willing to pay $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year, TuneIn Premium is commercial-free; plus, it offers access to millions of sporting events: college football and basketball, MLB, Premier League and NHL.
As it expands more into cars, TuneIn is clearly hoping to succeed with its subscription model, which has rocked Sirius/XM satellite radio with 34.2 million customers.
That’s right, newer older cars with Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto can also stream services like TuneIn via your phone and Bluetooth connection, a frictionless direct-to-car setup that I saw on the VinFast VF 6 compact SUV. -combined with 6-12 months of free 5G connectivity from T-Mobile – would certainly entice me as a car buyer to explore the next really big thing in radio listening.
And I was going to be converted by the time this free deal was over.