Xperi is marking the 20th anniversary of the commercial launch of HD Radio in cars, and reflecting on its evolution and impact on digital radio over the last two decades, as well as on the broadcast and automotive industries.
Owned by Xperi, HD Radio is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology used to simulcast analogue AM/FM radio stations. The technology is used mostly by US FM radio stations in North America.
HD Radio technology came to fruition in 2005 when BMWs (6 and 7 series) with fully installed HD Radio rolled off the assembly lines. Shortly after, BMW announced this as an industry-first, describing it as “one of the most significant advances in radio broadcasting history.”
Radio continues to play a crucial role in the vehicle. According to Edison Research’s Q2 2025 Share of Ear study, AM/FM radio captures 56% of all in-car audio time, with or without ads, across U.S. drivers. Xperi says HD Radio technology is the most successfully deployed commercial digital radio system in the world, and is available as a factory-installed feature from all major auto manufacturers in the U.S.
HD Radio delivers crystal clear, static-free sound, and on-screen information such as album art, station logos, song and artist information, traffic, weather, and critical emergency alerts, all of which elevate the in-vehicle infotainment experience. For broadcasters, it allows opportunities for deeper listener engagement and more.
Jury, Xperi’s General Manager of Immersive Entertainment, says: “Key innovations like album art and artist images introduced in 2011 have opened up new monetisation opportunities, and HD Radio now supports 2500 stations and 4500 digital channels, including 1200 unique stations only accessible via HD Radio.”
According to Xperi’s senior vice president of broadcast radio and digital audio, Joe D’Angelo, “As HD Radio continues to grow and evolve, it is foundational for next generation opportunities in the connected car; and this is particularly true when it comes to DTS AutoStage, our global connected car entertainment platform that seamlessly combines linear broadcast with IP-delivered content. DTS AutoStage would not exist without HD Radio technology and it both complements and enhances FM and HD Radio via rich, consistent metadata, advanced services and broadcast content protection.
“DTS AutoStage operates like a personalised content sieve, making it easy for consumers in the connected car to safely discover and engage with the full spectrum of their personal entertainment preferences. Built around radio, it also incorporates video and gaming capability that broadcasters can leverage to increase engagement and, yes, revenue — as well as never-before-available listener data and analytics.
“Historically, the vehicle has been a listening blind spot for broadcasters, but our DTS AutoStage Broadcaster Portal is changing that with compelling actionable views of exactly how a station is performing — not just which songs are played, but the songs and content in-vehicle listeners are engaging with, when they are doing it, where they are doing it, how many sessions, how long each session is and more. We see this as a first step toward getting broadcast radio in the car integrated with programmatic ad platforms.”
Milestones in the history of HD Radio include:
- 2005: HD Radio first launched in cars through the BMW 6 and 7 series models.
- 2010: HD Radio reached 1 million cars on the road with HD Radio.
- 2011: The Artist Experience feature, which displays song-related images such as album art, is launched in cars.
- 2014: HD Radio is built into 35% of new vehicles sold in the U.S.
- 2018: Over 50 million cars on the road have HD Radio.
- 2021: There were over 4,500 separate digital channels operating across 2,300 unique stations.
- 2025: HD Radio now reaches 115 million vehicles worldwide.
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