Joe D’Angelo Unveils Xperi’s AutoStage Evolution.

With connected dashboards reshaping how radio is consumed in the car, Xperi is positioning DTS AutoStage as a bridge between traditional broadcasting and the data-rich world of digital media.

Speaking at the Nautel Technology Forum at NAB Show 2026, Joe D’Angelo, SVP at Xperi, highlighted the scale and growing influence of the hybrid radio platform. “AutoStage is a hybrid radio platform… that combines the over-the-air broadcast signal with IP delivered metadata,” he said. “It… gives you the ability to enrich the user experience in the vehicle.”

Launched in 2020, the platform has quickly expanded across the automotive ecosystem. “We currently have 12 OEM brands that are in production,” D’Angelo noted, including early partner Mercedes-Benz and major volume manufacturers Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. “We are in every Tesla around the world,” he added, underscoring its global footprint.

That reach now translates into significant scale: “We have 16 million cars on the road around the world, 9 million in the U.S.” Of those, “six and a half million… are giving us live, literally minute-by-minute data around where they are and what they’re listening to.”

The result is a level of measurement radio has historically lacked. “Last month, we measured close to 41 million hours of in-car radio listening,” D’Angelo said.

But the goal, he stressed, goes beyond raw listening totals. Xperi is building an ecosystem designed to help broadcasters compete directly in the digital audio marketplace. “We’re trying to… enable you… to participate in the digital audio ad space like pure-play digital platforms,” he explained.

That requires solving for several long-standing gaps. “We have to deal with audience measurement, advertising attribution, return on investment, and impact measurement for clients,” D’Angelo said. Just as critical is integration with “media planning and the demand-side platforms” that drive modern ad buying.

At the center of that effort is the DTS AutoStage Broadcaster Portal, which aggregates usage data across the platform’s connected vehicles. First launched in 2023, the portal has undergone a significant overhaul to make it more relevant to broadcasters.

“The platform… wasn’t very actionable. It didn’t speak the language of broadcast radio,” D’Angelo admitted of the initial version. The updated version, which debuted late last year, was built with input from “industry leaders, agencies, sellers, [and] program directors” to better align with how radio operates.

The changes are already gaining traction. “We currently have 70 organizations using it and over 2,000 sellers… using this data to transact business,” he said.

A key differentiator is speed. Unlike traditional measurement systems, AutoStage data is available almost immediately. “We are delivering the data the next day… usually by about 6am,” D’Angelo said. Behind the scenes, that requires processing “over 750 million data events a day just here in the U.S.”

The platform now spans more than 300 markets, offering detailed local insights. “We generally need about 1,000 active cars in the market to generate meaningful, credible analytics,” he explained. In Las Vegas alone, “337,000 cars… listened to almost 400,000 hours of radio” in a single month.

For broadcasters, the value lies in how that data can be applied. New features include market rankers, station rankers, and daypart-level insights, along with familiar metrics like share, cume, and total listening hours. “We’re talking the language of radio,” D’Angelo said.

The platform also introduces tools designed to enhance both programming and sales. Audience flow charts now track tuning behavior in quarter-hour increments, while geographic heat maps visualize where listeners are located.

“The heat maps… initiate the conversation with clients,” D’Angelo said. “When you can show a potential client that you have audience where they are… it really reframes the conversation.”

For programmers, AutoStage offers song-level performance data, including completion rates and listener engagement trends. “You can actually compare the number of spins to the total number of listens,” he said, helping stations better understand how music resonates.

Looking ahead, Xperi is focused on extending these capabilities into advertising attribution—long considered a missing piece for radio. “Wouldn’t it be something if you could do this same level of reporting around your advertising spots?” D’Angelo asked.

That future is already in development. By combining listening data with location insights, the platform aims to connect ad exposure with real-world outcomes. “This is not science fiction,” he said. “This is something we are developing now that you should expect to see next calendar year.”

For an industry increasingly challenged by digital competitors, D’Angelo framed AutoStage as both an opportunity and a necessity. “It creates a dramatically improved user experience in the vehicle,” he said, “and it provides these invaluable insights… to your station.”

As radio continues its push into the connected car, platforms like AutoStage suggest the medium’s next evolution won’t just be heard—it will be measured, visualized, and, ultimately, monetized.