Entertainment companies are eyeing the market as vehicles are emerging as a battleground for next - generation platform competition. Content providers such as podcasts, which have been focusing on mobile in the meantime, are also entering the market competition by offering products optimized for the automobile market.

According to the industry on October 17, podcast companies which offer radio broadcast content over the Internet are jumping into the car infotainment market.

Vehicle infotainment is a combination of information, which means information such as route guidance, and entertainment, which means various entertainment elements. As automobiles as vehicles have evolved into self-propelled vehicles, control of in-vehicle systems is emerging as a major future business for platform operators. Market researcher Gartner predicts that the automotive infotainment system market, which was USD 47 billion in 2015, is expected to grow to nearly USD 60 billion, or nearly KRW 309 trillion.

The industry cites audio content as the core content of these vehicle infotainment services. Melon, Ginny Music, and BukSu music service companies to enter the market ahead of the market to get a preliminary market in the early moves to be released. Podcast service providers are entering the market once their competition is over.

Meanwhile, the podcast application `Potty`, operated by NHN Bugs, recently began supporting Apple`s car infotainment platforms `Apple Car Play` and Google `Android Auto`. When you touch the `PATTI` app on the Apple Car Play screen, `MY Playlist` which summarizes podcasts by individual account, `Pattice choice` which recommends broadcasting, `Potty Chart` △ "New episode" menu that informs new episode of favorite broadcasting can be used in conjunction with it. Android Otto is not currently available in Korea, so the company can immediately use the service from the start of service.

The company has signed a contract with Renault Samsung Motors to supply Qt3 Tablet to Car devices. `T2C` is a tablet PC type infotainment system developed by Renault Samsung car for the first time in the domestic automobile industry. Users can listen to real-time traffic information, music streaming, weather information, etc. while driving using this device. It provides about 10,000 channels and about 840,000 contents to Renault Samsung car QM3 users.

Naver, on the other hand, has launched its audio content portal, `Audio Clip` app, and made it available on its vehicle entertainment platform `Away`. Audio clips contain a variety of audio content, including knowledge, cultural and practical podcasts, and other forms of entertainment. Naver`s voice technology can be used to create new content, which seems to have a significant impact on securing audio content.

A portal industry expert said, "The importance of audio content will grow even more because audio content is played and the content most audiences hear in the car."

By Jin Hyun Jin 2jinhj@


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