Boston, MA 08/27/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) may be the granddaddy of Internet radio service, but the company is not done looking for new opportunities. Its target in recent times is automotive, and officials say Pandora will be in about 150 car and truck models this fall. However, the headache is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Even Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is not a good friend because of its rival music streaming service.
According to Pandora’s vice president of the automotive business, George Lynch, recently said they expect to capture more automobile cockpits with their infotainment systems. This year alone some 150 different vehicle models will feature Pandora system and that is just the start of their broad scheme at seeking group in the auto industry.
Tapping into auto market
Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) already boasts more than 76 million in active users. The company offers ad-supported online music streaming. It also has an ad-free service that calls for subscriptions. Tapping motorists into its Internet radio service is something that Pandora believes will help it achieve big growth in terms of listenership and revenue in the future. The company posted earnings of $0.04 a share on revenue of $218.90 million in its 2Q2014. That was better than the consensus estimate of $0.03 a share on revenue of $218.54 million for the quarter. Revenue increased 43% from the prior year.
Swimming against Apple (AAPL)
Although Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) is ambitious about growth in the automotive, the company has Apple to deal with in controlling the cockpit. Apple not only has a rival streaming service, it is also among the in-car operating systems that dominate the market. That is a serious headache because Apple does not include Pandora in its CarPlay app, which features services such as iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio and Spotify. With that in mind, Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) will have to do more to swimming against the tide of Apple and other rivals to dominate the auto infotainment market, which is a promising segment for the radio service providers.
