Keep radio available in cars and on devices

Radio provides vital and trusted services to hundreds millions of listeners across Europe, delivering extensive public service content.  It is vital that listeners have direct access to radio in cars, on smart devices and on platforms.

Radio services in vehicles or on devices or platforms should be:

• Prominent, visible and convenient to access, with an easy-to-find ‘radio’ button.
• Delivered reliably in response to voice commands (e.g ‘Play Radio Kerry’);
• Easy to access on the infotainment systems of vehicles regardless of the transmission mode (FM, DAB and online, including via radio apps);
• Available for free as radio has always been, without any interruption and without any cost for listeners.  Radio has the real benefit of being easy to access and free-to-air and those features must be protected in the move to new technologies.

We in IBI believe there is an urgent need for legislation in Europe and its implementation in Ireland and other countries to include protections for listeners’ access and for the licensed broadcast media.

Key policies which can be used to progress this include:

The European Electronic Communications Code (EECC)

The Digital Networks Act (DNA)

The Digital Markets Act (DMA)

The European Democracy Shield (EUDS)

The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD)