News

On October 12, Radio Orient began broadcasting its programs in Marseille, Toulon, Nice, Cannes, Dijon and Avignon. This new deployment brings the number of zones covered by Radio Orient to 26 sectors in DAB+ and 11 in FM. This makes this station one of the most important in terms of coverage, especially as other new sectors will be opened in 2022.

Schlager Radio will start broadcasting on the North Rhine-Westfalia DAB+ multiplex to launch on 29 October. The launch of the station fills a gap in the offer to listeners, by providing a channel that plays the popular music genre "Schlager". North Rhine-Westphalia is the "Schlagerland" of the Federal Republic. Nowhere is the enthusiasm for the genre of music in Germany greater than in NRW and many popular artists come from North Rhine-Westphalia and have a huge fan base all over Germany.

Starting on 30 October, talkSPORT will broadcast rugby’s Autumn Nations Series for the first time ever on the network. Coverage will include 50 exclusive matches to broadcast over the next three years, with a top team of rugby talent. Talksport, owned by Wireless Group (part of News Corp), is a sports radio station and the Global Audio Partner of the Premier league. It is the only English radio station broadcasting sporting discussions and commentaries 24 hours a day.

The UK Digital Radio and Audio Review recommends that there should be no mandated switch-off of analogue radio in the UK until at least 2030 - meaning that FM radio broadcasts can continue for at least another decade so the elderly, vulnerable and people in remote communities can access essential news and entertainment. Media Minister Julia Lopez said: "We must make sure this treasured medium continues to reach audiences as listening shifts to new technologies and that we have a gradual transition away from FM to protect elderly listeners and those in remote areas. We will not have a digital switchover until at least 2030 and will consider new rules to keep our thriving radio sector at the heart of the UK’s media landscape."

Published this morning by the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the Digital Radio and Audio Review assesses future trends in listening and makes recommendations on ways of strengthening UK radio and audio. Chapters cover listeners and ensuring the appeal of radio and audio, the future of radio and audio devices used in home and vehicles, digital audio platforms and voice-activation, and future radio distribution and coverage.

From next year, Czech Radio will finance the development of DAB+ by switching off AM. Said Karel Zýka: "At the end of the year, we are shutting down AM and its resources will be set aside for digital broadcasting. Czech Radio now has all its stations on DAB+". Czech Radio plans to further improve signal coverage and in the next phase of coverage, the focus will be on indoor reception. Commercial network operators are also keen to develop DAB+ in the Czech Republic.

Radio listeners across North Rhine-Westphalia can listen to a wider selection of programmes from 29 October with 16 services via DAB+. Said Jan-Uwe Brinkmann: “Finally, a real radio market will also emerge in NRW with attractive nationwide providers and competition in private radio. According to estimates by market observers, up to 100 million euros in advertising money per year are wasted because the previous politically wanted radio landscape was unable to offer the appropriate advertising space. We and the other platform programmes will now change that with our nationwide offers. In this respect, the launch of DAB+ in NRW opens up a new multi-million market."

Since 12 October, France Bleu, the local network of Radio France, can now be received on DAB+ by nearly 16 million inhabitants. Ditto for other radio stations in the group (France Inter, Franceinfo, France Culture, France Musique, FIP and Mouv’), thanks to 28 DAB+ transmitters going live.

Twenty-five new small-scale DAB multiplex licenses have now been awarded by media regulator Ofcom, completing its first round of licensing for the new technology. “The rollout of this innovative technology will give listeners across the United Kingdom an unprecedented choice of locally produced content — serving communities and audiences across the country in a way never seen before,” said Kevin Bakhurst, Ofcom’s group director of Broadcasting and Online Content. “The UK’s commercial and community radio industry continues to go from strength to strength.”

No fewer than 87 local radio stations have expressed interest in joining a DAB+ pilot project in Flanders, Belgium. West Flanders has the most interested parties, followed by East Flanders and Antwerp.