There’s a couple of things this article leaves out.
1) Terrestrial radio signal streaming via the internet. Primarily this is done via iHeartRadio.com and is my primary means of listening to WOR in New York while at my desk; even while being at my office in NYC.
iHeartRadio.com puts on a giant music festival in Las Vegas every September with current pop stars. If there is to be a PR campaign for terrestrial radio, it should be in combination with streaming.
2) When I do listen via a broadcast signal, I’m tuned into the HD signal on FM. WABC - AM in New York is simulcast on 95.5,HD2. Unfortunately WOR does not have HD space on FM.
So if BMW is including a radio that can access standard FM signals as well as HD Radio, then that’s probably OK.
All that said, I like antenna broadcast radio for security and subversive reasons. As the article states, it easy to know who exactly is listening to a streaming audio channel. That means it’s easy for a government agency to track who is listening.
Also, should there be a major failure of the Internet infrastructure (I know it’s designed not to), it’s possible to still communicate one to many via a power generator at the signal source and a battery in a receiver.
As the father of teenagers, I do find it unfortunate for them that the shared media experiences that I had with friends at that age are much more fragmented now. I don’t know what kind of cultural touchstone they’ll have in common when they get older.
Progress.
Many listen via Net streaming/smartphones or HD. I do have a portable HD radio at work and can hear WRKO 680 Boston at work on WEEI-FM HD2 only it cuts out. Have better luck with TuneIn (or iHeart, since WRKO’s Howie Carr is also on a network feat. CLear Channel’s WHYN in western MA)