News

Do you remember the One Click principle introduced by NL three years ago to reiterate the need for the radio to remain accessible on the dashboard of cars at the touch of a button, as was the case from the introduction of the car radio until the advent of interconnected cars? Well, we are pleased to note that this principle has now been literally borrowed by the WorldDAB Automotive 2023, with repeated speeches extolling its importance, in the face of the invasion of the field on the four wheels of on-demand audio streaming services, such as Spotify (which enjoys a pre-installed icon on almost all new cars).

Since 1 June 2023, a DAB+ test operation for the Heilbronn region as far as Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart has been broadcast from the "Brackenheim 1" telecommunications tower on channel 12B. 580,000 residents will be covered. Dana Diezemann is the initiator of this innovative project. Thomas Kircher from FM Kompakt spoke with Dana Diezemann about the idea, the implementation, but also the hurdles and why broadcasting had to be temporarily stopped again on 30 June 2023.

Listen to hr-iNFO in stereo: This will finally be possible via DAB+ from Monday, 26 June. In addition, new regional variants for hr1 and hr3 will be made technically available so that listeners will be able to hear even more regional programmes exactly from their region from autumn 2023. With digital radio DAB+, interested listeners will then be able to select and receive the new regional programme services in all parts of Hesse.

Those who go to the sunny island of Usedom to switch off can now tune in to even more radio there. NDR is pushing ahead with DAB+ coverage. This time the Baltic resorts of Bansin, Heringsdorf and Ahlbeck are benefiting. NDR is putting another DAB+ transmitter in Block 8B (197.648 MHz) into operation at Heringsdorf. This covers the eastern part of the island of Usedom and also offers good reception in Swinemünde and Misdroy.

At Aeranti-Corallo's RadioTv Forum 2023, Marco Rossignoli's report on the sector's activities and critical issues over the past year: "Aeranti-Corallo also believes it is essential that digital transmissions go live quickly in order to avoid the risk of a competitive gap with national radio broadcasters. Mr. Rossignoli then said that he welcomed the recent launch of procedures for the assignment of rights to use DAB+ frequencies in the regions of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Lazio and Sardinia."

South London stations Select Radio, Rainbow Radio and Croydon FM have confirmed they are applying for the South London small-scale DAB multiplex. South London DAB CIC has been established by the stations with the help of Niocast Digital, South London station Colourful Radio and radio executive Chris Hurst. “Select Radio has been around since 2003 in one form or another” says Director Tom Marley, “and we’ve been planning the move to DAB for some time now. “We’re looking forward to the quality that DAB will deliver and being able to reach lots more listeners. It will also be great to give access to broadcast for so many radio services who haven’t had the opportunity in the past ”

ORF should finally make its three radio programmes available on DAB+. For this reason, committed Austrians have signed a popular complaint which has now been submitted to KommAustria. The Verein Digitalradio Österreich supports these efforts and the complainant, Dipl.-Ing. Heinrich Thonet, and fully agrees with his argumentation of the violation of the ORF's coverage mandate in the radio sector. The submission by the law firm to KommAustria took place on 6 June. KommAustria will now decide on the matter in the coming weeks.

Železná Ruda in West Bohemia, which lies close to the border with neighbouring Bavaria, would be the eighth location to receive the signal of the public multiplex ČRo DAB+ this year. The town in the Pilsen region would be followed by seven other sites, the coordination of which has already been announced by Czech Radio. A 100-watt transmitter with vertical polarisation is to be located in the Vodárna locality. "If everything goes well, we will see another seven or eight transmitters of the CRo DAB+ network in autumn, which will thicken and improve the coverage of our multiplex," said Pavel Balíček, Head of Signal Distribution at Czech Radio.

New WorldDAB member Gracenote's automotive metadata solutions offer consistent and quality coverage globally, powering search and discovery across audio, video and sports content. Find out more in our Q&A with Maryann Faricy - VP, Global Automotive Products, Gracenote and Thorsten Böhmer - VP, Automotive Sales, International, Gracenote.

Two community radio stations in South Hertfordshire have joined forces to apply for the South Herts SSDAB multiplex licence. Mix 92.6 based in St Albans and Vibe 107.6 in Watford have set up South Herts DAB Ltd with the help of Niocast Digital and long standing senior radio executive Chris Hurst. Station Manager at Mix 92.6, Nick Hazell, said: “Bringing an affordable way for radio stations to reach South Hertfordshire listeners is an exciting new venture for us. We’re looking forward to enabling local groups and national stations to hit the airwaves.” Vibe 107.6 Managing Director Howard Groves, added: “We are really excited about the potential for DAB in the South Herts area. “Not only will we be providing our listeners with a further way of engaging with Vibe 107.6FM, but DAB will open up opportunities for other community based stations to expand their reach.”