You can now use our open technical standards to create a link between your live radio broadcasts and your (nominated*) app in the connected car. Find out what it will mean for listeners and how you can set it up for your station.
Helping listeners listen to more from your radio station
The new functionality in the RadioDNS standards helps your listeners do five things
- Find and install your (nominated) station app
- Start and browse your station app
- Explore recommended listening from your station (“deep linking”)
- Rewind the current live radio show, from within your app
- Use free & reliable broadcast radio to listen to live radio from your app
all from within the RADIO function of the vehicle.
We think that makes is much easier for your listeners to listen to both broadcast radio and explore what additional content you’re offering in your own app.
Whilst the specifics of implementation are the decision of each vehicle manufacturer, we’re recommending:
- That if you have an app, and it’s not already installed, there’s an option for the listener to install it next to your station on the station list
- If you have an app, and it’s already installed, the listener can launch it directly from the station list – without interrupting listening to broadcast radio – allowing browsing
- The listener can be shown/choose from a list of audio available in your app, which you can recommend according to each live radio show, so it can change over the day.
- That your app supports switching to broadcast radio if the listener wants to listen live, rather than streaming
Implementing this new functionality
We’re currently prototyping and finalising the exact details, but it will require your radio station to:
- Add information on your app to your Service Information (SI.xml) file
- Add Recommendations to your app audio into your Programme Information (PI.xml) files
- Make sure your app registers to support deep-linking
- Add links to broadcast radio (fm:, am:, dab: etc.) into your app
Information will be distributed to RadioDNS Members in the first instance, before publication in an updated version of our standard TS 102 818 in late 2025.
NOTES
Nominated Broadcaster App – we know not all radio stations will have their own dedicated app. In that case, you can use a third party app or aggregator app (such as Radioplayer or TuneIn) as your nominated app. Regardless of whether it’s your own app, or you’re working with a third party or aggregator, the listener experience will be consistent).
Currently this functionality is only supported in Android Automotive, and is reliant on the vehicle manufacturer implementing support in their radio. We’re in discussion with vehicle manufacturers about our standards and how best to support them.
RadioDNS will not be providing this functionality ourselves. As a standards organisation, we publish the methods for achieving this functionality, but it’s up to individual radio stations, providers and manufacturers to implement it. We help our MEMBERS with advice and technical support to get the best possible implementation of our standards.