User data convinces 3SS that in-car TV screens can displace phones for streaming
There are more use cases for in-car television systems than first thought, with early adopters watching content while waiting to pick up their kids from football – not only while passing time at an electric vehicle (EV) charging point.
That is the good news for car manufacturers looking to differentiate their connected car operating systems, helped by 3SS, a leading provider of multiscreen UX and backoffice solutions for broadcasters and platform operators, and now car makers.
Kai-Christian Borchers, managing director at 3SS, has been studying usage of in-car television systems powered his company’s 3Ready Automotive platform. He says: “People are actively engaging more than we thought they would.”
He says TV has become one of the top applications within connected car operating systems.
TV usage is still measured in minutes a day, not hours, but Borchers says many users are hitting double-digit figures, and using the television twice a week.
“They start small, and news updates are one of the most popular types of content, just a couple of minutes long.”
One of the key learnings from early adopters is their willingness to watch content on the in-car entertainment screen when they could find the same viewing on their phone or tablet.
Don’t forget the audio
Borchers points to the in-car entertainment sound systems as one reason. “They are tremendous, and often much better than what you have at home.
“When you watch content encoded with Dolby Atmos it is insanely good audio,” he explains. “Do not underestimate the impact of the audio experience.”
Pierre Donath, chief product officer and CMO at 3SS, acknowledges that in-car entertainment systems must compete with personal devices for time, but notes some inherent contextual advantages they can draw upon.
“We can leverage deep integrations [with the underlying car systems OS] to understand how long it will take to charge a vehicle or how far there is to your destination,” he explains.
This data could be added to your previous viewing patterns to drive a content recommendation.
3Ready Automotive can provide YouTube recommendations related to your destination, which are lined up on the in-car system.
As seen with traditional platform operators, engagement will be partly driven by the ability to provide a personalised user experience that aggregates the content people want and makes it easy to find.
Donath declares: “The biggest push-back against in-car television is the argument that people can use their phones and tablets instead.
“Our data shows that in vehicles with our solutions, using the embedded [in-car entertainment] screen becomes a habit.”
He adds: “You get a bigger screen. You can still use your phone while watching the car entertainment. If you have small kids, they do not need to borrow your phone.”
Borchers has seen enough to believe that the in-car television market will be limited not by user behaviour, but by the number of cars carrying a connected OS and video entertainment system.
Passenger viewing is allowed while vehicles are moving, so the growing number of cars carrying a second, passenger-facing display will help the in-car television market.
3SS has expanded its own role in this sector with its decision to curate content partners who license their programming for in-vehicle viewing.
Making content deals easier
3Ready Content Bundle for Automotive was announced at CES in January and provides access to 25 news providers (including Bloomberg, DW, Euronews and France24), 2,000 Hollywood movies, and a handful of streaming services including wedotv.
wedotv joined the collection in April, bringing its portfolio of FAST channels. This is the first distribution deal wedotv has outside of conventional connected TV and mobile devices.
With 3Ready Content Bundle for Automotive, car makers can avoid having to find and adapt content suited to the in-car environment. Meanwhile, 3SS helps content providers adapt to multiple car ‘OEM’ requirements and certification hurdles.
3SS takes care of licensing on behalf of the vehicle maker or helps them negotiate directly. The company also provides usage analytics to content owner and car maker.
“This is important for the automotive industry because they are not interested only in working with national broadcasters – they want to satisfy demand for international programming,” Borchers says of the content curation.
3SS has worked on eight automotive projects, including with BMW (where management board member Frank Weber says the car giant’s Theatre Mode “transforms the rear interior into a private cinema lounge.”)
In February, Škoda announced it is using 3Ready Automotive to transform the in-car entertainment experience (pictured). This partnership includes a selection of wedotv channels.