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State of the Screens

When Will We Be Able to Watch TV (Legally) While Driving?

By June 29, 2023No Comments

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Seven big questions re: watching TV while driving:
1) What must happen for watching TV while driving to become a reality?
2) When will cars be fully self-driving?
3) How much time do we spend in our car?
4) What share of ad-supported time in cars is AM/FM radio?
5) What share of cars sold are connected?
6) Who controls the car interface?
7) How much data will connected cars create daily?

Setting the table: Time spent watching TV has been flat (↑ 27m) for 15 years while mobile/desktop video has added 1h 9m.

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Why this matters: Self-driving cars could create new time for consuming video.

Quote from Ky Tang – Executive Director @ Telenav:

“We see this as the battle for the fourth screen after the television, computer and mobile phone.”

Big question #1: What must happen for watching TV while driving to become a reality?

Quick answer: Fully autonomous driving.

Big question #2: When will cars be fully self-driving?

Quick answer: Full autonomy (level 5) could be here as early as 2050.

Big question #3: How much time do we spend in our car?
 
Quick answer: 51 minutes per day
 
Big question #4: What share of ad-supported time in cars is AM/FM radio?

Quick answer: AM/FM radio dominates ad-supported time in cars.

Why this matters: Would introducing video be additive or a direct substitute for audio?

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Big question #5: What share of cars sold are connected?

Quick answer: 98% of new cars sold in the US have Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto.

Interesting: Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto is a key feature for 48% of car buyers.

Big question #6: Who controls the car interface?

Share of connected car users by operating system according to eMarketer:
1) Apple CarPlay – 61%
2) Android Auto – 39%

Big question #7: How much data will connected cars create daily?

Quick answer: A ton (1.4 TB+ per hour of driving.)

FYI: This would fill a Blu-ray disc (50 GB) in less than 2 minutes!

Quick math on potential connected car data for the average driver:
1) 17,600 miles/year
2) 51 minutes/day
3) 310 hours/year
4) 1.419.0 TB per hour
5) 4346K TB per year

More: Visualizing Media

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.