Automotive

The Leading Audio Company Kicks off the Decade Announcing Seven New Upcoming Integrations with General Motors, Android Automotive, Panasonic, SoundHound and Others at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show

LAS VEGAS – January 7, 2020 – iHeartMedia today announced new upcoming automotive integrations for iHeartRadio, the company’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting, on demand and live streaming radio service, during the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. To optimize and enrich the in-vehicle experience for drivers, iHeartRadio is rolling out a series of automotive integrations and concept demonstrations all designed to bring iHeartRadio’s unprecedented library of audio content to listeners in a seamless way.

As the leading audio company in America with a greater reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet, iHeartMedia is uniquely poised to lead the way in a new era of audio evolution – one where virtual assistants, smart speakers and intuitive design interfaces are experiencing explosive growth. By integrating with the most innovative automotive companies on the market, iHeartRadio enables consumers to access the music, podcasts and personalities they love, whenever and wherever they are, on any device. iHeartRadio is currently available on more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices including on digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables and smartphones as well as on virtual assistants, smart speakers, TVs, gaming consoles and more.

“2019 was a momentous year for iHeartMedia and in 2020 we will continue to expand our audio offerings and connect with more and more marquee technology companies to provide a seamless, unmatched audio experience to consumers,” said Michele Laven, President of the Strategic Partnerships Group for iHeartMedia. “Broadcast radio dominates in-vehicle listening and iHeartRadio continues to be at the forefront when it comes to new digital interfaces and experiences. We’re excited to be at CES unveiling our new integrations and concepts with the world’s leading auto innovators as we continue to steward audio innovation in the car.”

Full details on iHeartRadio’s new integrations can be found below:

Android Automotive OS

iHeartRadio is releasing a new, stand-alone version of its app for vehicles powered by Android with the Google Play Store built-in. iHeartRadio first announced and demonstrated capabilities at Google I/O 2019 in May, and the app will be distributed via the Google Play Store and available first in the Polestar 2 and the Volvo XC40 Recharge vehicle launches in 2020. iHeartRadio users will be able to seamlessly access Live Radio, Artist Radio, Podcasts and Playlists while cruising around. Experience Android Automotive OS at CES 2020 in the Google Assistant footprint at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

BMW ConnectedDrive

Building upon iHeartRadio’s existing BMW ConnectedDrive experience, the company is releasing a new app version that will be available in both Flagship Mobile clients, iOS and Android. This latest update offers an enhanced audio experience for both BMW and MINI drivers and allows iHeartRadio listeners to safely and easily listen to Live Radio, Artist Radio, Podcasts and Playlists while on the road.

General Motors

iHeartRadio is releasing a new integration that will be available across in-market and future Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles with eligible infotainment systems[1]. While iHeartRadio currently offers an in-vehicle experience, the new app will be expanded to include access to Podcasts and Playlists in addition to Live Radio and custom Artist Radio.

HARMAN Ignite

Consumers demand highly connected, seamless and intuitive driving experiences that enable their digital lifestyle. HARMAN believes in the power of partnerships as the key to unlocking innovative consumer experiences. The new HARMAN Ignite Marketplace, supported through a strong partner ecosystem of in-vehicle apps and services - from navigation and messaging to productivity and media, allows consumers to personalize and control their connected driving experience and ensure time in the car is time well spent. iHeartRadio today announced it is an early ecosystem partner for the HARMAN Ignite Marketplace.

LG webOS Auto

iHeartRadio will soon be available for LG’s webOS Auto platform. Originally designed for the smart TV, the webOS platform is now supported by the car. iHeartRadio on webOS Auto is based on its TV design and is available for rear seat use. webOS Auto provides features and functionality that enable an infotainment system to offer improved comfort and convenience to passengers. Together, iHeartRadio and LG are giving passengers the opportunity to access audio content in a way like never before.

Panasonic

Panasonic Automotive has built several next generation in-vehicle experiences in recent years and its latest infotainment experience, SkipGen – which is powered by Android 10, features the iHeartRadio app designed for Android Automotive. To learn more about this in-vehicle experience at CES, visit the Panasonic footprint at Booth 12908.

SoundHound / Houndify / Hound App

iHeartRadio and SoundHound are working together to bring iHeartRadio’s robust slate of content to SoundHound Inc.’s Houndify™ voice AI platform and Hound app. Houndify is the voice AI solution for various automotive and connected platforms, and Hound is the popular voice assistant app available on iOS and Android. Through the partnership, developers and partners using Houndify and Hound app will have access to iHeartRadio’s free suite of offerings including Live Radio (U.S. only), Artist Radio (U.S. only), and Podcasts (available globally except the U.K.), no login or authentication required.

[1] Available on select 2017 model year and newer GM vehicles with compatible hardware. Requires active service plan and paid AT&T vehicle data plan. Requires active iHeartRadio account to customize favorites and create custom stations. See onstar.com for details and limitations.

Google, Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC.

Revolutionary Data-Driven Analysis Tool Utilizes Daily Sales and Market Share Data to Optimize Advertising Campaigns for Auto Dealers

NEW YORK – August 28, 2018 – iHeartMedia and AUTOFLYTE announced today the launch of AUTOFLYTE EDGE, a new powerful automotive insights tool that features daily sales and market share data throughout each region to help dealerships market smarter and faster. AUTOFLYTE EDGE is available now exclusively through iHeartMedia.

In an age when real-time analytics and insights are vital to a business’ success, dealerships have been confined to analyzing OEM reports and 60- to 90-day old registration data to guide their sales and marketing strategies. Now, for the first time, auto dealerships will be able to utilize iHeartMedia’s AUTOFLYTE EDGE tool to receive up-to-date daily automotive sales insights from their surrounding area, allowing them to completely customize and quickly update their sales and marketing strategies based on current market dynamics and trends.

The EDGE platform houses insights for dealers across the U.S. and pinpoints the exact geographies where dealerships and their competitors are gaining and losing market share for specific nameplates down to a zip code, allowing dealers to identify where the most opportunity exists for their business right now.

“We are committed to technology-driven innovation and having the ability to offer even more targeting solutions for our advertisers that leverage the unparalleled local reach of radio,” said John Karpinski, Executive Vice President of Automotive Business Development & Partnerships for iHeartMedia. “AUTOFLYTE has partnered with the industry authority for automotive sales statistics to create the most powerful and credible insights tool available and we have partnered with AUTOFLYTE to bring this revolutionary technology to the market. With the new AUTOFLYTE EDGE platform, we will provide our auto partners the ability to break free from previous automotive marketing confinements and use timely information to precisely target new buyers.”

“With iHeartMedia and AUTOFLYTE’s exclusive real-time insights and data, this new tool is nothing short of a game changer for how we do business at our dealership,” said Steve Hurley, Owner of Stingray Chevrolet. “For the first time, we are able to specifically tailor our marketing plans based on what our customers want today versus months ago. We’ve been waiting for something like this and are already seeing success.”

AUTOFLYTE EDGE is part of iHeartMedia’s ongoing focus to assist brands and marketers in reaching consumers across its quarter of a billion monthly broadcast listeners. In May, the company launched iHeartMedia Analytics, the first fully-digital attribution service for broadcast radio. The company’s additional industry-leading marketing optimization tools include SoundPoint, its programmatic real-time radio ad buying platform, and SmartAudio, which enables advertisers to do impression-based audience planning and dynamic radio ad creative using real-time triggers to deploy different campaign messages based on what is happening in a specific market at a specific moment. SmartAudio has allowed brands to use broadcast radio ads to dynamically serve the most relevant message in each market, at each moment to ensure increased relevance and impact.