News

In response to huge demand (and a few trolls), Radio Exe has taken advantage of half-Christmas – 25 June – to relaunch Radio ExeMas, non-stop Christmas songs whenever you want them. Radio Exe’s breakfast presenter Matt Rogers, never one to pass up an opportunity to don a Christmas jumper said: “For people who say Christmas seems to start earlier every year, they’re right! “We wanted to be at the top of Santa’s nice list by bringing festive cheer to Devon, and now people can get their fix of Mariah, Wizzard and Wham by tuning to Radio ExeMas. Feliz Navidad!” The festive station is on digital radio across much of Devon on the Exeter, Torbay/Teignbridge and Plymouth areas, as well as being streamed on its own website and on the Radio Exe app.

The Ingolstadt local network (channel 6A) is getting a third location for DAB+ today. In addition to the existing transmitters in Pfaffenhofen-Wolfsberg and Gelbelsee, a further site in Eichstätt is now strengthening DAB+ reception in the region. The transmitter operates with a power of 1 kW ERP. The network operator of the regional network is Bayern Digital Radio GmbH. The Ingolstadt 6A DAB network now also covers the large district town of Eichstätt almost completely in indoor quality (approx. 99%). With the expansion of the network through the Eichstätt DAB transmitter, the Ingolstadt 6A DAB multiplex can be received by approx. 93.9% of residents in buildings and approx. 98.6% on mobile devices in the Ingolstadt region.

Cars and radio are a close-knit team - and DAB+ now has a regular place: 37 per cent of the population in Bavaria who listen to the radio in their cars on weekdays on average receive radio programmes via DAB+. Regardless of how radio is listened to in the car, despite increasing competition from online audio offerings such as music streaming or podcasts, 85 per cent of audio time in the car is spent listening to the radio and only 13 per cent is spent listening to online audio. These are preliminary results on DAB+ from the Radio Analysis Radio Bavaria 2024, which will be presented on 25 June at the Local Radio Days. There is good news regarding the ownership and use of DAB+ devices: around half of the population in Bavaria now has at least one DAB+ radio at home or in the car. DAB+ also remains the driving force for the use of digital transmission channels in radio.

A total of 30 new radio stations went on air via the DAB+ platform on 21 June, 15 of which are broadcast throughout Austria, while the other 15 stations are distributed regionally. To this end, the ORS Group, which is responsible for the distribution of the digital radio offering, has expanded the technical reach of the DAB+ network in recent months and created five new coverage areas for the regional programme offering alone. Overall, a diverse mix of completely new but also established FM programmes can now be offered, which will now expand their reach digitally terrestrially and give the Austrian radio industry a significant boost in development.

For two and a half years, Radio VM1 has been offering a relevant niche format for all fans of folk music and popular hits. In addition to regional FM frequencies in Tyrol, Salzburg and Styria, the folk music radio station can now also be heard throughout Austria via DAB+. Folk music, music from the homeland, folk hits, Wienerlied, Oberkrainer & Co mixed with reports and news from the region - Radio VM1 makes the diversity of the country audible. With the Austria-wide start of broadcasting via DAB+, Radio VM1 is one of a total of 28 private radio stations that can be received throughout the country via the new digital broadcasting standard from 21 June 2024. The DAB+ technology scores points with a diverse selection of stations, nationwide network coverage and noise-free transmission without frequency search.

Early on 24 June, just after midnight, Broadcast Partners officially took over the operation of the commercial rural multiplex 11A in Flanders from Norkring. The past few months have seen the construction of a completely new transmitter park with a total of 23 new set-up points spread across Flanders and Brussels. For the public, little will change. The stations that could be received via the 11A network will remain available. From today, the 14 programmes broadcast using this network can be received in cars almost everywhere in Flanders. Despite the radio signals being broadcast by other transmitters, it is expected that the listener will notice little of the change of transmitter operator.

The digital radio landscape in Austria is receiving a significant boost: with the commissioning on 21 June of new DAB+ muxes and 30 new transmitters, the digital radio offering is growing to a total of 58 stations. The National Council has recognised the importance of digital radio and has increased annual digital funding by one million euros. From June 2024, the digital radio offering will continue to grow for the first time since August 2020. 30 new stations will go "on air" on DAB+. These include well-known names such as Radio Arabella and Life Radio. There will also be a wide range of niche programmes. With this largest launch of radio stations since the start of private radio in Austria in 1998, DAB+ offers an unprecedented variety of stations and programmes.

Austrian Federal President van der Bellen pressed the start button of Radio ROT WEISS ROT on 21 June at 12:00 noon, thus launching the most Austrian DAB+ station on the radio market. ROT WEISS ROT is soon to become the regulars' table of the local radio scene. True to the motto "Da bin I her, da hear (hör) I hin", the station is a tribute to the country's artists. "I am delighted to be able to officially launch the new digital radio station Radio ROT WEISS ROT," says a delighted Alexander van der Bellen. Attending the start of the broadcast was a great pleasure for our Federal President and a huge honour for everyone involved. Together with this year's ESC candidate Kaleen and singer Josh, he launched the red, white and red radio station and presented the first song - which was, how could it be otherwise, Reinhard Fendrich's "I am from Austria".

FM licences for commercial radio will no longer be sold to the highest bidder. Instead, a new fee equivalent to 3 per cent of advertising revenue will be introduced. This is proposed in a memo from the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture also proposes that analogue FM licences should in future be allocated according to the same principles as digital DAB+ licences. This means that the Media Authority will take into account "diversity in terms of both content and ownership", as well as previous experience of radio operations in the relevant broadcasting area or radio market. The current licences for commercial radio on FM and DAB+ are valid until the end of 2026. The Ministry of Culture's proposal has now been sent out for consultation, which runs until 11 October.

European Music Day is a very special year for Radio Clásica, as it starts broadcasting on DAB+ in ten Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Murcia, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, Pamplona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Málaga. This represents more than 30% population coverage. DAB+ makes it possible to start listening to Radio Clásica's programming with very high audio quality, which is of paramount importance due to the type of musical works that are broadcast. Once deployed nationwide, DAB+ will enable Radio Televisión Española to provide public service radio broadcasting under the terms currently mandated by law. It will provide maximum geographical and social coverage with better quality, free-to-air broadcasts, complementary information and free reception.