Restart when listening to Live DAB+ or FM Broadcasts in the Car, or dive straight into a station’s wider content universe in the broadcasters own app.
Radioplayer is uniquely linking broadcast with radio-apps, and for the first time, drivers can restart a live DAB+ or FM programme from the very beginning. Radioplayer’s new Restart feature, powered by its hybrid-radio platform, fuses the rock-solid reliability of broadcast with the on-demand control listeners now expect.
Radioplayer demonstrated their new in-car solution in Madrid this week, first to Spanish broadcasters, then live at WorldDAB Automotive 2025. While tuned to live DAB+ or FM, a single tap on the dashboard lets listeners restart the current show, skip back for missed moments or dive straight into a station’s wider content universe of podcasts and sister stations.
In the conference session Seamless listening: Linking broadcast and apps, Radioplayer’s Laurence Harrison and Sonia Domarco explained why merging broadcast and IP is essential to giving in-car radio the richer, seamless user experience audiences already enjoy elsewhere. Radioplayer tech is linking hybrid radio to broadcaster apps in an easy and intuitive way.
“Listeners expect simple, seamless options everywhere, especially in the car. Innovations like a true Hybrid Radio happen when broadcasters unite on technology and collaborate with car-makers. With our new app-linking innovation we focus on the prominence of the broadcast "radio" button and add simple user journeys to access all the great radio content available in broadcasters apps" Laurence Harrison, Chief Partnerships Officer, Radioplayer
“Radio in the car has always meant instant access to every broadcaster, big or small, commercial or public. Our work ensures that spirit of universal availability survives the shift to connected dashboards, so every listener keeps the freedom to choose.” Sonia Domarco, Country Manager, Radioplayer Spain
Hybrid core - Radioplayer blends broadcast and IP, so audio continues even when reception fluctuates.
Restart / Catch-Up - One tap restarts the show you are listening to or a previous show in the hybrid radio or a broadcasters app.
Direct app linking - Dashboard tiles or a "more" feature open straight into the station's app to find sister stations, podcasts and extras, keeping both the relationship and the data with the broadcaster
“Our tech team has turned true hybrid radio into reality, and the response on the stand reflected that progress. Broadcasters could see "Restart" working live and immediately started talking about next steps. It’s encouraging to know that more stations now want to collaborate on making radio look every bit as good as it sounds.”
OJ Torvmark, Head of Products, Radioplayer
Throughout 2025, Radioplayer's tech team have refined hybrid radio in close collaboration with public and commercial broadcasters as well as carmakers. On stage in Madrid, Tobias Nielsen (Bauer Media) and Tomas Granryd (EBU) presented the joint "Radio Ready for Connected Cars" framework, where commercial radio organisations including European Commercial Radio Association the AER, Bauer and Global, have now joined the EBU in the collaboration that was previously known as The Playbook. They highlighted Radioplayer's innovations and collaboration as an example of delivery against the Radio Ready principles.
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Radioplayer is the only broadcaster owned platform and we will continue our innovations in line with The Radio Ready principles.
Our solutions now powers radio in more than four million cars across Europe. With XPENG recently announced as its 16th automotive partner, that figure is expected to exceed five million this year.
