News

The Times, The Sunday Times and Wireless have confirmed the launch of Times Radio will take place later this year. The station will broadcast nationally on DAB and online, and will be in addition to talkRADIO rather than in place of it.

That radio listening is almost the same level as before FM switch off is a success story that should have received far more attention in the media. One cannot draw conclusions based on a single week's listening - radio listening in Norway remains one of the largest media coverages, and increased diversity means there is now a channel to suit every taste.

The UK arm of the media mogul’s News Corp empire is due this week to announce details of Times Radio, a DAB channel funded from the marketing budget of The Times titles.

The Bavarian regulator BLM and regional radio station Charivari have launched a pilot project to provide local content using dynamic reconfiguration whereby five local programmes are assigned to three DAB+ channels every half hour. DAB+ distribution for private radio becomes more economical because only three digital transmission signals are used for five transmission areas. This approach strengthens local radio in the digital world, making it fit for the future.

It's now possible to find out which DAB+ stations are on air and where thanks to the DAB+ interactive map just launched by the French regulator, the CSA.

At its plenary meeting on 22 January the CSA agreed on the timetable for the allocation of a remaining space on the national multiplex 1 to be launched later this year. Work on the preparations are to start immediately, with a call for applications to be launched in February.

Italian national DAB+ network operator, DAB Italia, continues the expansion of its national DAB+ network by recently launching further DAB transmission sites in several regions across the country including Abruzzo, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Campania, Piedmont Valle d'Aosta, Umbria and Molise.

The significant progress of DAB+ digital radio in France is set to take centre stage at this year’s European Radio and Digital Audio Show. Kicking off in Paris today, the event will bring together stakeholders from across the French radio industry and beyond to discuss the opportunities DAB+ brings for the radio, manufacturing, retail and automotive sectors.

According to the association of radio and TV broadcasters, Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV), starting from December 21, 2020 all new cars, including commercial vehicles, for sale in Italy will have DAB + radio as standard. From 1 June 2019, it has been mandatory for sellers to prepare a possible future installation of a DAB + radio in vehicles ready for sale. As an interim measure, until December 2020, car manufacturers will be able to offer vehicles for sale car radios without DAB+ up to a maximum of 10% of the vehicles that were produced and registered in 2019.

This article outlines the specifications of DAB radio, touching on the technology's various benefits for listeners and broadcasters, and Germany's recent introduction of regulation mandating DAB+ radio in cars and certain types of consumer receivers.