News

Digital radio reception via DAB+ and the internet now accounts for three quarters of all radio listening. FM use continues to decline, while both DAB+ and online radio are gaining in popularity. Radio reception via DAB+ and the internet are now equally popular, each accounting for around a third of radio use. The radio industry has decided to switch off FM in favour of DAB+ digital broadcasting by the end of 2024.

Network operator DABCOM has launched digital radio multiplexes in Warsaw and Poznań. The Poznań multiplex consists of ten radio stations. At the end of December, the National Broadcasting Council adopted a resolution on allocating the resources for a nationwide DAB+ multiplex, able to carry 12 stations, three of which would be for Polish Radio.

Car buyers from across the globe said that broadcast radio is their most preferred source of in-car entertainment and it’s important therefore that car makers fully understand their customers’ attitudes to broadcast radio in the car dash. Tom Webster SVP, Edison Research, presented the findings emphasizing the survey was about broadcast over the air radio, not streamed radio.

Digital radio platforms have maintained their predominant position to now account for 64.4%% of all radio listening, according to new data for Q4 2021 released by RAJAR today (03 February 2022). Listening via DAB remains the most popular means of all radio listening accounting for 42.5% of all listening (and 66% of digital listening), exceeding listening via AM/FM which accounts for 35.6% of listening.

A total of 59 local radio broadcasters will be broadcast via DAB+ in the coming months, with efforts bundled per province and in Brussels. In the long run, the Flemish Minister of Media, Benjamin Dalle, wants local radio to be given a permanent place on DAB+. “In Flanders we have a very large and rich offer of local radio stations. They too must be given the opportunity to be present on the platforms of the future,” said Dalle.

WorldDAB has published an updated set of Automotive User Experience Guidelines, with new sections added on hybrid radio, voice controls and phonemes. The updated guidelines also include new information reflective of North American market, and future areas of work such as switching between DAB and other in-car platforms.

Local DAB+ test multiplexes went live in East Flanders and Limburg on 1st February. The East Flemish test mux uses block 10C and is managed by On Tower Netherlands, the operator arm of Broadcast Partners. The Limburg mux was activated via block 10D, with three transmitters of 1,000 Watt ERP each and is operated by Aircast.

A new urban radio station has launched on DAB+ in Romandy, the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. URBN RADIO was launched in response to demand from younger, urban and cosmopolitan listeners, and plays a mix of rap, hip-hop and R'n'B, with a focus on featuring Swiss talent.

This week's one-hour webinar "Broadcast radio's role in cars of the future" took a closer look at the data behind the research headlines of the recent Car Buyers Survey conducted by Edison Research, to get a deeper understanding of the behaviours, trends and entertainment features that are driving the car buyer’s decision making. The full webinar is now available to watch on catchup on the WorldDAB YouTube channel.

The Electronic Media Agency published details at the end of last year on the launch of the first Croatian nationwide DAB+ multiplex, which would cover the entire country. A total of six documents for this public tender were published on the Agency website. These included the Concession Notice, the tender documents, the Feasibility Study itself and also the required technical parameters.