Automakers Make Room For Internet Radio

Internet radio is starting to look like a must-have infotainment feature, judging by the number of Pandora users.

AutoNews is reporting this fall, 150 car and truck models will have infotainment systems equipped to play and display Pandora, says George Lynch, vice president of Pandora Media Inc.'s automotive business development.

The company in Oakland, Calif., now counts 76 million users, including a large and growing number of motorists. The company's expansion into the automotive sector "really went crazy in the past year," Lynch said.

Internet radio gives motorists music and other programming from a variety of online sources via a data provider, such as Verizon.

Although a number of Internet radio apps have emerged in recent years, Pandora -- the Internet radio industry's granddaddy at age 14 -- dominates the segment.

According to a consumer survey by Edison Research and Triton Digital, 31 percent of those polled had listened to Pandora in the previous month. Nine percent had listened to iHeartRadio, followed by iTunes Radio at 8 percent.

Although Pandora is the leading Internet radio provider, other audio options still have a strong following.

Fifty-eight percent of motorists said they listen to AM/FM radio "almost all of the time" or "most of the time" in the car.

Fifteen percent said they listened to CD players; 13 percent listened to MP3 players, 11 percent listened to satellite radio, and 6 percent listened all or most of the time to Internet radio.