Radio Revolution Arrives

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has formally - or informally - put the automotive industry on notice: This is no time to delete radios from cars. The revolution will not be televised. The revolution is being broadcast on your car radio.

Tuesday, April 2, the FCC unanimously approved GeoBroadcast Solutions' ZoneCasting technology, which allows broadcasters to segment their signals to target geofenced audiences in the U.S. The decision notably arrives one week before the National Association of Broadcasters' annual event and months before the 2024 presidential election - when targeted advertising will be a priority.

The FCC decision comes with a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address "future adoption of processing, licensing, and service rules," including public input. The decision allows radio stations to begin offering ZoneCasting using FM boosters. Best of all, the reception of ZoneCasting signals requires no new equipment in receivers - whether they be in homes or cars.

For three minutes of every hour, ZoneCasting enables more relevant local content whether that be news, weather, sports, traffic, public service announcements, or advertising. This is especially relevant to radio listening in cars, the dominant platform for radio content consumption.

ZoneCasting adds to the revolution arriving in automobile dashboards where broadcast radio content is increasingly enhanced with visual content and metadata, searchable, and, now, geotargeted. The existing location relevance of radio content may now become "hyperlocal."

For broadcasters, GeoBroadcast Solutions says, ZoneCasting can be deployed without upfront capital expenses by use of a revenue split - with the focal point clearly on using the technology to sell localized advertising.

Local advertising is a core element of the ZoneCasting proposition. During the unfolding political season a ZoneCasting enhanced station will allow politicians to target specific areas related to relevant voting districts. Observers believe that advertisements serving smaller areas can be sold more cost-effectively to many more businesses with more overall revenue accruing to the station.

In this context, the automotive industry's talk of deleting car radios or continuing to make the radio difficult to locate seems severely counter-intuitive. Radio in the dashboard is rapidly transitioning to a digital medium enabling new interactive advertising solutions tied to QR codes and other innovative propositions.

ZoneCasting is the latest wrinkle in radio's ongoing evolution. The automotive industry has a front row seat to observe and participate in this change. This is the time to lean in and listen to the revolution.