Automotive DMB/DAB will feel heat from Internet radio

BOSTON, USA: Recent DMB and DAB digital radio announcements in France, Germany and the UK finally signal the start of semi-consistent digital radio standards being introduced across Europe, according to the latest report from the Strategy Analytics Global Automotive Practice, "European Automotive Radio: DAB/DMB Faces Competitive Challenges from AM/FM and Internet Radio."

“Commercial interest in DMB/DAB will need to rebuild in what is a very difficult automotive planning climate”, says Joanne Blight, automotive director and report author. “Even with such digital radio progress made in Europe’s Big 3, and a full scale commitment from France from 2010 onward, there is still uncertainty over the automotive opportunity.”

“Positioning and pricing of digital radio and understanding consumers’ full multimedia requirements inside and outside the vehicle will be critical,” commented Peter King, consumer devices director. “DMB and DAB has a lot of work to do. Existing FM stations, and Internet access to radio and podcasts, offer huge, low cost choice benefits for consumers.”

This report also concludes that automotive Internet radio faces significant business model challenges but is likely to be found in vehicle-device interfacing solutions starting in 2011.