News

Bavaria is to become the first federal state in Germany in which all FM radio stations are also broadcast in DAB+, as of 2020. Commenting on the announcement, the president of BLM - the regulatory authority for new media in Bavaria - stated that digital radio had reached the "point of no return".

According to the law, radio stations had a period of two months, until June 24, 2019, to jointly designate multiplex operators. The broadcasters proposed the company "Opératrice du multiplex M1" for the multiplex M1, (NRJ, Chérie FM, Nostalgie, Rire et Chansons, RTL, Fun Radio, RTL 2, Radio Classique, Skyrock, M Radio, Latina et Air Zen) and the company "OpeNMux" for the multiplex M2 (France Inter, France Musique, France Culture, France Info, FIP, Mouv’, Europe 1, Virgin Radio, RFM, RMC, BFM Business et BFM Radio).

Audi has revealed its facelifted Q7 SUV. The updated version of Audi’s big SUV will be in UK dealerships in the autumn and comes with DAB as a standard.

The new Škoda Superb comes with DAB as a standard.

As DAB+ continues to establish itself as the future platform for radio across Europe, focus is now shifting to developing the DAB+ experience in the car. On June 20, experts from the broadcasting and automotive industries came together at the WorldDAB Automotive conference in Turin, Italy, to discuss the development and future of DAB+ in the car.

NENT already broadcasts Teracom's existing test network for DAB+ in Stockholm, Uppsala and Gävle. The next step is to launch additional channels and expand the network to Gothenburg and Malmö. The first phase of the expansion is set to be completed in October, with population coverage expected to reach 43 percent.

With U.K. radio moving strongly into the digital realm, the real purpose of the U.K. radio review, which starts soon and is scheduled to conclude sometime in mid-2020, may be to shut down the United Kingdom’s FM Radio broadcasts.

Hyundai’s standalone luxury brand Genesis has officially launched onto the Australian market with the unveiling of the G70 sports sedan and G80 luxury saloon. Both models come with DAB+ as standard.

Deutschlandradio has announced it will be switching off its FM frequencies in three Bavarian cities in coming months - Amberg, Füssen and Kempten. Once the switch off is complete, the public broadcaster will instead rely on distribution via DAB+.

International non-profit radio platform Radioplayer has appointed Laurence Harrison to the brand new position of Automotive Partnerships Director. In his new role, Laurence will be responsible for leading ambitious efforts to get hybrid radio interfaces into internet-enabled cars in Europe. Laurence will continue to serve as Chair of the WorldDAB Automotive Working Group, where he has led successful projects to define User Experience guidelines for car radios.