Hybrid Radio Platform Delivers Massive In-Car Listening Data For Broadcasters.

The long-standing challenges of radio audience measurement—from limited sample sizes to delayed reporting—may be nearing a turning point. A new hybrid radio platform is now delivering real-time, in-car listening data at scale, offering broadcasters a far more precise view of audience behavior.

Speaking at the NAB Show, Xperi Sr. Director of Broadcast Strategy and Business Development Juan Galdamez described the shift as “the end of the measurement guessing game.”

At the center of that transformation is DTS AutoStage, a hybrid radio system that combines over-the-air broadcast signals with an IP connection inside the vehicle. The result, Galdamez said, is both an enhanced listener experience and a powerful new data pipeline.

“When we talk about hybrid radio, it’s taking the over-the-air signal in the car, taking the internet connection in the car, and bringing them together,” he explained. “Let’s maximize what broadcast does best—and use connectivity to elevate it.”

Launched in 2020 with Mercedes-Benz, AutoStage has since expanded to 12 automotive brands, including high-volume manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia. Today, more than six million vehicles are actively reporting listening behavior through the platform.

The front-end improvements are immediately visible. Traditional radio displays—once limited to frequencies and call letters—are replaced with station logos, artwork, and enhanced metadata. Even AM radio, often overlooked in modern dashboards, gets a visual upgrade.

“I would argue this is the best-looking AM radio you’ll ever see in a car,” Galdamez said, pointing to examples that incorporate branding and content discovery features.

But the bigger story may be happening behind the scenes.

Because AutoStage connects broadcast listening with IP data, it enables direct measurement of tuning behavior inside the vehicle. Each time a listener tunes to a station, the system logs that interaction—creating a dataset that reflects actual usage rather than modeled estimates.

“With 6 million vehicles, we can now understand how listening is occurring inside the car,” Galdamez said.

The scale of that data is already significant. In March 2026, more than 114,000 vehicles in the Dallas market alone reported listening activity. Smaller markets are also seeing meaningful sample sizes, including 18,000 vehicles in New Orleans and nearly 14,000 in Omaha.

“These are vehicles telling us directly how they are consuming broadcast radio,” he said.

In total, the platform now delivers data across 302 markets, with listening insights available within 24 hours—often by the next morning.

“You can be sitting at your desk having a cup of coffee at nine o’clock and looking at how your station performed yesterday,” Galdamez noted.

The dataset includes a range of familiar metrics—cume, time spent listening, and share—along with new layers of granularity. Stations can track performance by daypart, analyze quarter-hour trends, and compare daily listening against 30-day averages.

For programmers, that level of detail opens new possibilities.

“You can see the ebbs and flow of listening throughout the day,” Galdamez said, adding that stations can now pinpoint exactly when audiences grow or decline.

In practice, that means being able to measure the impact of specific events in near real-time. Sports stations, for example, can track spikes during live games, while other formats can see how promotions, artist takeovers, or even the first day of school affect tuning.

“It’s all the stuff you’ve always known in your gut—that you’re moving audience,” he said. “Now you can actually see it.”

The platform also introduces geographic insights through heat mapping, showing where listeners are physically located when they tune in. That can reveal concentrations of listening along highways, near airports, or in commercial zones—offering new opportunities for both programming and sales strategy.

“It’s point-of-consumption data,” Galdamez explained. “Not just where people live, but where they’re actually listening.”

Additional features include song-level consumption data, identifying which tracks are truly being heard in vehicles, as well as cross-market listening insights that capture audience spillover beyond a station’s home market.

Importantly, the system is designed with privacy safeguards. Xperi does not collect personally identifiable information, instead focusing on aggregated listening behavior.

Still, the implications for the industry are substantial. For decades, radio measurement has relied on panels, diaries, and statistical modeling. AutoStage introduces a direct, observational approach—one that could reshape how performance is evaluated and monetized.

Broadcasters are already beginning to use the data in sales conversations, according to Galdamez, particularly in demonstrating audience engagement and geographic reach.

“This is all real data from real vehicles,” he emphasized. “We’re not making estimates.”

As adoption grows, the platform could become a critical tool for stations—especially in smaller markets that have historically lacked robust measurement systems.

Ultimately, Galdamez framed the shift as both evolutionary and overdue.

“For over 100 years, radio has been the most efficient way to deliver audio to the masses,” he said. “Now we finally have a way to measure it with that same level of precision.”