University of Michigan Mobility Transformation Center

Driverless cars are here to stay, whether they are Elon Musk’s tenuously-funded Teslas or mainstream manufacturers’ more staid visions. As the world’s road safety experts and infrastructure specialists brace themselves for the coming storm, though, a long anticipated media revolution is also nearing: the advent of the ‘third living space’ in your car. The way we consume entertainment on the go is going to change drastically, and some giants stand to lose as a result.



Integrated music streaming services already represent a serious threat to drive-time radio, as easily-connected smartphones offer drivers the playlists they actually want, rather than the ones chosen for them. Driverless cars will multiply this threat many times over, for one simple reason: instead of just listening, drivers and passengers will finally be able to watch video and play games.

When does a car become truly autonomous? Levels of self-driving technology explained Autonomous Cars When does a car become truly autonomous? Levels of self-driving technology explained


If Ford have their way, these won’t just be on a small seat-back screen. The American car manufacturer has gone as far as patenting an “autonomous vehicle entertainment system’ which could effectively cover the windscreen with a projector screen, placing more emphasis than ever on being able to ignore the road.

With Ford’s ongoing partnership with Amazon’s Alexa announced at CES this year, the people in the car won’t even have to move to pause their chosen show. The line between driver, passenger and audience will be blurred beyond recognition.



In this context, with the people formerly known as drivers able to divert their full attention away from the road, it’s easy to see why radio stations might worry about their place in the entertainment equation. A generation is growing up seeing radio as less useful than Spotify, and video on demand could in turn overtake music streaming in cars. Traffic updates, phone-ins and local news reports struggle to assert themselves against personal mixes, let alone the temptation of an episode of Poldark.



With streaming platforms already providing “pick up where you left off” services across multiple devices, such integrations don’t present overly complex technological challenges – compared to, for example, improvements to in-flight entertainment in recent years. And if radio will be challenged by video, both will be threatened by gaming. The heavy emphasis on portability and adaptability presented by the Nintendo Switch indicates yet more prescience by the Japanese giants. Cars with built-in console docks are a logical extension of the iPod adaptors and in-car DVD players of yore. Drivers could be speeding round the Nürburgring in Gran Turismo or throwing blue shells in Mario Kart, all while being driven around by a computer.



If passengers do decide to look out of the window, augmented reality integration and heads up display technology will mean that in milliseconds the car could interpret a giant QR code on a billboard and use it to display a targeted advertisement. Just as we are used to personalised recommendations on our TVs and phones, we will become used to them in our cars. Why would Netflix want to show you a billboard for Orange is the New Black when they know from your account you gave up after three episodes?

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These developments represent major opportunities for growth and profit. Incentives to sign up to streaming services are just the beginning. In addition to standard revenue, a major reward for providers will come in the form of rich datasets, generated by the scale of this interconnectivity of activity – do users prefer short shows when driving in cities compared to rural routes? Are documentaries favoured over dramas by 4x4 owners, or puzzle games preferred to first person shooters by Silicon Valley drivers? All would become clear.



As a result, processing data legally will be a major priority for providers. If a car manufacturer wanted to anonymously examine braking distance data to improve its software, then it would be surprising if it faced any issues. However, if an integrated food ordering app wished to analyse ordering trends using GPS data, and this data showed frequent trips to places of worship, for example, restrictions surrounding sensitive personal data may quickly come into play under current EU and domestic regulations – before any possible regulatory strengthening in the future.



These sorts of legal pitfalls apply in myriad ways to the “rolling living room” of the future. AR advertisers will have to abide by laws to ensure they aren’t ambush marketing; entertainment platforms would have to be clear on their liability should a driver need to seize the wheel and fail to do so; licensing deals for exclusive rights in certain cars would need rigorous legal work to ratify – would, say, HBO be within its rights to give BMW drivers exclusive access to in-car Game of Thrones? As these situations become more pressing, governments are also likely to tighten regulations to guard against abuse, with penalties to match.



Connected and autonomous cars do not have a ceiling in terms of potential at the moment; from shared lounges in limousines, to utterly immersive mobile virtual reality stations and independently travelling bookable meeting spaces, the sky is the limit. And this new horizon will be rife with opportunity for innovation and profit. It will play host to numerous battles, as industries compete for an in-car audience that was previously almost entirely dedicated to radio and music, fought with all the intensity of a high-stakes game of Call of Duty played on the M25.

Gregor Pryor is co-chair of the global entertainment and media industry group at law firm Reed Smith