A mobility-friendly business model for public radio

For a business models class, our team worked with public radion KQED, one of the most listened to radio stations in the Bay Area. Since the majority of KQED’s listeners tune in during their morning commutes in the car, the advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) could greatly impact their listeners, and revenue. The member-supported station relies on avid listeners to sustain their operations through donations.

Research

Over the semester, we conducted primary and secondary research, brainstorms, refinement cycles and validation exercises. We relied heavily on methods like the business model canvas, investment readiness assessments and market research. We interviewed people on the ferry, in the backseats of Lyfts, and on the street about their content and commuting preferences. We consulted industry experts at Sonos and Spotify to understand the future content landscape.

A major discovery was the importance of the “morning ritual.” Commuters felt protective of their morning routines and valued this personal time. Regardless of transport method, two main themes emerged: the importance of content choice and accessing it via mobile.

Facilitation

We facilitated workshops with KQED’s innovation team to understand our stakeholders needs and goals. Together, we realized that there was a missed opportunity to engage listeners before they even got in their car. The station's existing app only allowed for live streaming broadcasts, cutting out listeners who take BART or don't have a mobile connection en route to the office. To get a seat at the table in the AV future, KQED would need to make its app-based content more accessible today.

Results

For our final client presentation, we reminded the KQED team about transportation models of the past — how the evening newspaper emerged as “personal content” when commuting by train was common. While technology and transportation have evolved, people’s behavior remained more constant — cherishing the few, quiet moments before or after the office, in their own worlds and with their own content.

A copy of the final report can be found here. This project included Liz Demakos, Mark Tolentino, Norinne Cheng, Tobin Shreeve, and Vanessa Hernandez.