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DAB+ is offering a real plus in programme variety in Germany. A good example is Joke FM - distributed digitally, via DAB+ and IP, and already with a solid following. Broadcast daily, the 24 comedy programme features 50% spoken word and 50% popular music, featuring comedy series, interviews and newcomers from the comedy and cabaret scene.

Statistics for the consumer electronics year 2021 in Norway have been published by the Electronics Industry Foundation. Total turnover in Norway for digital radio products in 2021 remained steady at 572,000.

DAB+ radio came as standard in 95% of new vehicles sold in key European markets in 2021, reflecting the implementation into national legislature of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC). Several EU countries surveyed for the first time are already on a par with more established DAB+ markets and had a high percentage of new vehicles sold with DAB+ fitted standard, notably Austria (with 94% of new vehicles sold in 2021 having DAB+ as standard), the Czech Republic (93%), Poland (92%) and Spain (91%).

93 percent of new cars sold last year in the Czech Republic already included a DAB + digital radio tuner. In September 2020, Czech Radio launched 10 new DAB+ transmitters, increasing population coverage from 85% to 95%.

Published this week, the latest survey on listener awareness of DAB+ shows that by end 2021, 78% of Belgian listeners had already heard of DAB+. Sales of DAB+ home receivers grew by 13% in 2021, offsetting sales of analog FM receivers, which fell by 7%. 98% of new cars sold in Belgium now have DAB+ as standard. DAB+ has grown steadily since 2018, with 22% of French-speaking Belgians tuning in.

DAB+ radio came as standard in 95% of new cars sold in key European markets in 2021, according to figures released today by WorldDAB - reflecting the implementation into national legislation of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC). Several new EU countries surveyed for the first time are already on a par with more established DAB+ markets - Austria 94%, Czech Republic 93%, Poland 92% and Spain 91% of new cars sold in 2021 with DAB+ as standard.

Network operator DABCOM has launched another digital radio multiplex. This time in Katowice. Earlier multiplex launches have taken place in Tarnów, Częstochowa, Warsaw and Poznań. Network operator PSN Infrastruktura has launched local multiplexes in Rzeszów and Toruń. The Katowice multiplex will consist of nine radio stations.

DAB+ and the internet account for three quarters of total radio usage. FM is still losing ground, while the use of the two digital broadcast modes is increasing. DAB+ and internet broadcasting now each account for a third of total radio use. The Swiss radio industry has agreed to switch from FM to digital DAB+ broadcasting by the end of 2024. Virtually all new vehicles are equipped with a DAB+ set as standard. OFCOM will publish new figures in the first quarter of 2022.

The demand for digital radio is increasing. Last year, almost 40 percent of all radios sold were equipped with DAB+. The number of radio receivers without DAB+, on the other hand, fell by 16 percent, pure analogue receivers only accounted for a third of the radio market (35 percent). Almost half of the sales in the radio segment of consumer electronics are now generated via DAB+ devices (47 percent). A total of around 13 million DAB+ devices have been sold in Germany since 2010.

Deutschlandradio continues its commitment to terrestrial digital broadcasting in 2022 and the network expansion of the DAB+ transmitters will start soon. After the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on the broadcasting fee, the construction was commissioned again last summer, meaning six more locations can go into operation in 2022. As a result of the expansion, the transmitter network of the first national program platform has grown to a total of 155 locations. Distribution via DAB+ is around a third more economical than via FM due to the significantly lower power consumption per radio program.