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During the "DAB+ Digital Radio" conference organised by RTVE and WorldDAB, national and international experts agreed that Spain urgently needs a new Digital Radio Technical Plan that takes into account the reality of Spanish legal radio, that guarantees its stability, its legal security and allows its future evolution, so that the sector can start the DAB+ deployment in the shortest possible time, as it happens in the rest of Europe. The event, held in Prado del Rey, was inaugurated by Concepción Cascajosa, acting president of RTVE, who pointed out that Spain is at a key moment to give a boost to this format. "Radio is not only a means of communication, it is a social reality, a service in which we are framed as a public service to guarantee the right to information", she said. Jacqueline Bierhorst, President of WorldDAB, then addressed the current European situation and future plans, radio services and audience data, and the effect of digitalisation on the radio business. In her opinion, "it is very important to work together, commercial radio and public radio" and she stressed the need for a technical plan for the launch of DAB+ in Spain, preferably within a year.

Applications are now welcome with Ofcom for Round Six of the small-scale DAB digital radio licensing process. There are 27 areas on the list, and four other areas (Swansea, Warminster, Wigan and and an amended Wetherby) will also be re-advertised after multiplexes failed to materialise in those areas. The closing date is 5pm on Thursday 18th July 2024. Ofcom is currently looking at the applications for Round 5 and the awards are expected soon.

Audio advertising has increased by 13.1% so far this year. This is according to recent figures from the Norwegian Association of Media Agencies. All other media categories are falling. The media barometer for March shows audio advertising has increased by 13.1%. Radio itself has an increase of 7% and accounts for about 8 million of the 16. "It's great to see that audio, as the only channel so far this year, continues its rise. This is according to Harald Eide-Fredriksen, Director of Negotiations for dentsu, in a press release from the Norwegian Association of Media Agencies. "Digital development has ensured that they are going the opposite way of TV, and can offer increased potential weekly coverage in all age groups," says Eide-Fredriksen.

In Saarland, the third transmitter site for the state-wide private DAB+ multiplex with 16 radio programmes was put into operation last week in Merchingen. The additional site improves reception in northern Saarland, particularly in the Merzig-Wadern district. In addition, the output of the two transmitter stations Schoksberg and Spiesen, which have already been in operation since the end of 2021, will be increased from 23 April 2024. This will result in a total coverage of around 82% of the area of Saarland. "With these measures, together with the platform operator Media Broadcast, we have already achieved our goal of also supplying the greater Merzig area with digital private radio programmes two years earlier than originally planned," says Ruth Meyer, Director of the Saarland State Media Authority.

The conference takes place in the RTVE Corporation Assembly Hall on April 18, coinciding with the day RTVE begins broadcasts on DAB+ in Pamplona. The day's programme includes sessions not only aimed at analyzing the effects that the arrival of DAB+ has had for public radio, but also for private radio. interim President of RTVE, Concepción Cascajosa will inaugurate the day's proceedings. Delegates will hear from broadcasters in The Netherlands, France, Germany Norway and Italy who join the conference to share why DAB+ has been essential for radio's success in their country.

A major restart of the DAB+ Verified project, which certifies digital radio receivers suitable for the Czech market, is planned by České Radiokomunikace (CRA). "We want to involve both wholesale and retail," Marcel Procházka, director of the CRA's regulatory and legal department, told Televizníweb.cz. Specifically, for digital radios, CRAs check how DAB+ receivers handle the language localisation of Czech characters in the DLS (Dynamic Label Service), the language localisation of the receiver's menu, frequency range control (tuning), support for the display of the station name in the DLS, Slide Show, and test audio decoding and additional data services.

International broadcasters are among those looking to enter the upcoming commercial DAB+ multiplexes. Marcel Procházka, director of the legal and regulatory department of Czech Radiocommunications, confirmed this to Czech Radio's Digital Radio portal. The CRA board member also said that some radios are already in the process of signing contracts with the operator. "There is a lot of interest in joining our DAB+ multiplexes, whether it is the whole network or regions, and there are also important companies from abroad that are not in analogue FM broadcasting," Procházka told Digital Radio. The operator does not want to specify at the moment which entities are involved. The company is likely to be more specific during the summer.

The handover from Virage Radio to Virgin Radio took place on 15 April at 4pm. This is the first stage in Espace Group's strategy to relaunch the brand in France. On FM, of course, but also on DAB, where Virgin Radio, 'THE rock station', is hoping to establish itself rapidly. Virgin Radio is taking over the FM and DAB+ broadcasts of Virage Radio, an Espace Group station already firmly established with a rock programme in over 30 French cities. Virgin Radio has been broadcasting its programmes on FM (Lyon, Grenoble, Chambéry, etc.) and DAB+ in France's main cities (Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Nice, Lille, Strasbourg, etc.).

Media Broadcast is expanding the DAB+ transmitter network in Saarland and is putting another transmitter site into operation with the Merchingen transmitter. Merchingen is the third transmitter for the state-wide private DAB+ multiplex with 15 private radio programmes. The two existing transmitters Saarbrücken-Schoksberg and Spiesen will receive a power increase at the end of April. The new transmitter site in Merchingen in Saarland is now in operation and provides listeners in the north-west of the federal state with the attractive programme package of the state-wide DAB+ multiplex. The transmitter reaches in particular the region around the district town of Merzig and covers the A8 motorway.

After many years of planning and negotiations, RAS received the final allocation of the two transmission blocks 10B and 10D for the broadcasting of DAB+ digital radio programmes in South Tyrol from the Ministry. RAS has been waiting a long time for these licences. Until now, the Ministry had only issued provisional licences. Thanks to the good cooperation with the Communications Guarantee Authority AGCOM and the Ministry, two DAB blocks were made available for the public broadcasting service of the province of South Tyrol RAS in the final frequency planning for 2022. With the final allocation of frequencies, RAS now has long-term planning security and can guarantee the service for the next 20 years.