The January 2026 Consumer Electronics Show with its astounding assortment of innovative technology, gadgets and software is about to begin!
I retired from the practice of communications law five years ago, but with the encouragement of several radio broadcaster friends — who likewise share my enthusiasm for fresh technology — I will be there.
I am in pursuit of future tech at CES 2026 that will enhance our radio industry. While CES usually focuses on consumer goods, even robotic vacuums and programmed lawn mowers keep broadcast facilities in good shape with commensurate personnel savings. And as I describe below, media companies are increasingly finding radio and TV station use for consumer tech.
AI will undoubtedly be the overall theme of CES 2026. For radio stations, the question will be, how does AI fit into the medium’s future?
I keep watching for the announcement of an AI radio salesperson, possibly in the mold of the Star Wars R2D2 droid, that robotically attracts new advertisers while reducing the cost of sales. That robo-consultant, just like the Jetsons’ flying car, has unfortunately yet to materialize.
As I preview CES 2026, held Jan. 6–9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, I looked to go in search of answers to questions that a manager of a station might have.
Finding car radio knobs
In talking recently with radio companies, the two interrelated questions I have been told to ask are: “Where’s the radio?” And, with respect to automobile dashboards: “How do you find the radio?”
To me, it has been hugely distressing in the past several years to drive rental cars that make me feel utterly ignorant in finding the radio. On one overseas rental, a KIA Sorento had mutable knobs that toggled from controlling radio volume and tuning to setting HVAC.
So, you guessed it, when trying to tune the radio, I instead made my ride uncomfortably toasty.
[Related: “Radio Must Fight for Its Car Dashboard Placement”]
In another rental, a Toyota Highlander obliterated the radio once Android Auto began functioning. The only way to get to AM/FM functionality was a benign button on the steering wheel marked “mode.” Who would have guessed?
So, in every new automobile I get into at CES 2026, I will be looking for the radio, and — hopefully — a dedicated volume knob, a dedicated tuning knob and at least five buttons for radio station presets.
Do I wish for too much?
Tech for efficiency
For radio managers and decision-makers that attend a show as vast as CES, what do they typically seek?
Lee Perryman, the president and owner of Sylacauga’s Radio Alabama, told me that if he were to attend CES, he would be searching for consumer tech that allows his team to “do what we do in a commercial world at a lower cost.”
He pointed to his stations’ use of the RØDECaster Pro II, a standalone audio production studio in the $700 USD range, that he has interconnected in all studios. Citing budgetary restraints, Perryman said what he is doing with multiple RØDECasters was not possible with professional technology.
The key for Perryman is that, for everything he produces, he wanted to be able to reach “any appliance that a listener, reader or viewer might use.” If his stations can make use of consumer tech — and save approximately $50,000 — it allows his group to be more nimble.
Will Payne, the upcoming president of the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, is on the lookout for any AI-based software that makes his commercial production easier. The Payne Media Group has expanded from audio into live video streaming of sports and community events through Paynecast.com using consumer tech AI-powered OBSBOT Tail 2 video cameras that can go live on his websites.
He advised me to check out the Hollyland booth (LVCC, Central Hall — 22227) for radio and livestreaming products, including the Lark M2S that he uses for audio in doing live broadcasts.
Payne sees a time where there will be no difference between live video streaming and live radio.
“They are interchangeable,” Payne explained. “It does not matter whether it is FM, AM, HD or live video, it is all content that we are pushing out to as many spaces as we can.”
Jeff Jury of Xperi is among those who have echoed Payne’s sentiments, noting that the evolution of the DTS Autostage dash with video isn’t necessarily bad news for radio.
In hot pursuit
The most remarkable CES broadcasting-relevant tech that sprang out at me last year was ElevenLabs‘ speech AI. Its speech-synthesis technology is already being used by a number of radio broadcasters for text-to-speech, voice cloning and language translation. In 2025, ElevenLabs occupied a minuscule booth at CES, which belied its potential future importance for radio content.
There was also the clear glass-pane LG television receiver, the 77-inch LG Signature OLED T. The LG Signature TV had an exhibit presentation befitting everything extravagant about Las Vegas, demonstrated in a cylindrical tower of multiple clear glass-pane TV screens opening and closing in a French casement window style as evidence of its transparent and picture modes. Its lavish display would make for a striking control- or studio-room window, but it comes with a $59,000 USD price tag.
Xperi, the HD radio folks, showed off at CES 2025 their emerging DTS Autostage technology, which among other aspects, has the potential to transform radio broadcasting ratings, metrics and data.
I am looking forward to my visit to Xperi’s booth (LVCC, West Hall — 4041), which this year will include the U.S. premiere of the new Mercedes-Benz CLA incorporating advanced DTS Autostage video features.
Companies radio will recognize
Thinking back to CES 2025, I saw tech that, while not broadcaster oriented, can be utilized by radio broadcasters in their revenue-generating activities.
A crowd pleaser was the FaceHeart CardioMirror, an AI-powered smart-mirror that scans a user’s face and within 60 seconds provides measurements for heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, heart rate variability and a stress index. Bob McAllan of New Jersey’s Press Communications perceptively noted how the CardioMirror could be a crowd-attracting prop at remote broadcasts for hospitals and medical practices.
ElevenLabs (Fontainebleau, Meeting Rooms — FT-03) will be back at CES 2026. I also see industry names familiar to Radio World readers like Nielsen (Cosmopolitan, Hospitality Suites — Cosmopolitan Hospitality Suites 2), Gracenote (Cosmopolitan, Meeting Rooms — Condesa 2), Katz Media Group (Vdara Hospitality Suites) and WideOrbit (by appointment).
There’s also SoundHound (LVCC, West Hall — 5867), an AI voice developer for, among other consumer products, automobiles with a goal of turning the dashboard into an ROI-positive platform.
And then…
The highlight of CES 2024 for radio station owner Larry Fuss of Delta Radio Network and South Seas Broadcasting, Inc. was a booth hawking sperm testing for male infertility, a booth he insisted that I pose in front of with him for a photo to satisfy his latent morning-jock sense of humor.
I, of course, obliged.
The challenge for the radio industry in the AI era is to use new tech to enhance radio broadcasting operations while keeping radio as a solid business proposition.
I hope to find at CES 2026 new technology that can make radio content more informative and compelling, enhance radio listening experiences with graphics and metadata, improve radio station operations by being more cost-effective, and dramatically increase ROI for advertisers with real-time listener data and metrics.
I also hope to be surprised at CES 2026 by new technology that surprises, enchants, inspires and amazes.
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