News

Czech Digital Group, which is wholly owned by Czech Radiocommunications, has paid the Czech Telecommunications Office for frequencies that will enable it to build a nationwide DAB+ multiplex and regional networks in several regions in the future. Marcel Procházka, director of the company's legal and regulatory department, announced the news on the social network X on Wednesday morning. "The auction for DAB frequencies has been finally completed. We have received the frequencies we had planned. We have received the allocations of radio frequencies from the Czech Telecommunications Office for the national broadcasting network B and three regional networks. We will soon present our plans related to the development of these networks and services," Procházka said.

Antenne Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG has acquired all shares in National German Radio GmbH (NGR) from RAUDIOSTARS GmbH with immediate effect. Antenne Deutschland will thus bundle the platform operation of the 2nd nationwide DAB+ multiplex and the marketing of all programme channels. As the operator of the so-called 2nd Bundesmux, a platform for the nationwide terrestrial distribution of radio stations via DAB+, and at the same time the organiser of the six Absolut Radio stations broadcast throughout Germany, Antenne Deutschland is one of the largest national radio companies in Germany. National German Radio GmbH (NGR) is a company owned by technology investor Bugovics Industries GmbH and Erwin Linnenbach's masqueradio GmbH and had an agreement with Antenne Deutschland on the marketing of transmission capacities on the 2nd Bundesmux.

Contrary to the previous assumption that transmission capacities would initially only be available in four of six regions in NRW, it is now becoming apparent that a fifth will be added. The five regions covered by the tender are "Cologne/Bonn/Aachen", "Wuppertal/Düsseldorf/Mönchengladbach", "Ostwestfalen/Lippe", "Südwestfalen/Dortmund" and additionally "Niederrhein/Duisburg/Essen". The NRW State Media Authority is therefore postponing the DAB+ Regio tender to a slightly later date. It is still expected that the tender will start in the first half of 2024. This will be published on the website of the NRW Media Authority.

There seems to be a lot of interest among local public broadcasters to start broadcasting via DAB+. More than 200 local broadcasters, or over 90% of all broadcasters, applied to broadcast via digital airwaves. On 13 February, the National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate granted these stations a licence to broadcast via DAB+ as of September. A nationwide network consisting of 57 local allotments is available for this purpose. The broadcasters have until September 1, 2025 to start their broadcasts. All licenses are valid until September 1, 2030. Later this year the application and allocation procedure for the more than 800 remaining licenses will start for the commercial local broadcasters. Currently there are already about 20 local DAB+ networks on the air through temporary licenses. These expire at the end of August.

Soon, for the first time, local digital radio will be possible throughout the Netherlands. More than 200 local public broadcasters will receive their licence for DAB+ on 13 February. More than 90% of all local public radio stations will be able to broadcast via digital radio from September 2024. This gives listeners more choice in their listening offerings. Broadcasters have until September 1, 2025 to start their broadcasts. All licences are valid until Sept. 1, 2030. For local digital radio, the Netherlands is divided into 57 geographical areas to which frequency space is linked. Later this year the application and allocation procedure for the more than 800 remaining licenses will start for the commercial local broadcasters.

On World Radio Day 2024, Spanish radio listeners in six cities can begin turning in to the future of radio in the country. In line with plans announced in December, Spanish public-service broadcaster RTVE threw a symbolic switch at the Torrespaña to officially launch new DAB+ services. Starting on 13 February, listeners in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Murcia, and Bilbao can now tune DAB+ broadcasts of Radio Nacional and Radio 5, as well as Radio 3 in Valencia, Seville, Murcia and Bilbao. The new DAB+ channels join RTVE’s existing DAB broadcasts from Radio Nacional, Radio Clásica, Radio 3, Radio 5 and Radio Exterior in Madrid and Barcelona. Additional DAB+ services are slated to launch in other cities across Spain on a monthly basis, according to a RTVE announcement.

Throughout 2023, network operator TDF worked to deploy 100 new DAB+ transmitters at 70 sties across mainland France. Through this effort, more than 55% of French citizens have access to DAB+ digital radio signals and more than 550 radio stations broadcast using the technology in the country. “2023 marks an essential milestone for DAB+, with more than one in two French people now able to listen to the radio thanks to this technology,” stated Karim El Naggar, General Director of Audiovisual and Networks at TDF. “I congratulate … the TDF teams, who, through their expertise and professionalism, enabled the deployment of a very large number of transmitters in a very short time.”

RTVE has taken advantage of World Radio Day to present the reasons that have led the Spanish Corporation to launch DAB+ digital radio technology, a standard designed to "replace FM" in favour of quality and greater accessibility so that "radio will remain in the long term" among the preferences of Spanish citizens. Verónica Ollé, director of RTVE's presidential office, addressed the event, confirming that RNE, RNE 3 and RNE 5 will be part of this first deployment, together with four regional stations: Valencia, Seville, Murcia and Bilbao. Fernández Paniagua also provided new details of RTVE's plans with regard to DAB+: "We will start broadcasting in simulcast initially, and put into service four new stations that will provide coverage to a significant percentage of the population where, on an experimental basis, the digital radio services that RNE offers will be put into service with DAB+ technology".

This 'World Radio Day 2024' is also different. Very different. Because the Corporación Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) has announced the "start of DAB+ digital radio broadcasts". A fact that will be further explained at an event to be held today, Tuesday, in Torrespaña. It was foreseeable that this news would come at some point, and today seems like a good day to announce it, and press the DAB+ button in Spain. García Castillejo estimated that, with the arrival of spring, there would be around three million receivers "on wheels" in Spain, referring to new cars that, according to a European Directive of the end of 2020, must include DAB and DAB+ receivers as standard, in addition to FM and, in some cases, OM. The considerable number of receivers justifies the activation of this channel, based on the concept of 'public service' that inspires the work of the Corporación RTVE.

UNESCO celebrates World Radio Day on 13 February. The background to this date is the founding of United Nations Radio on 13 February 1946. Since 2012, it has been held under a different motto every year. This time it is "a century informing, entertaining and educating". A good occasion to take a look at listening habits in Germany and see how consumers prefer to be informed, entertained or educated via radio. Around nine out of ten people in Germany listen to the radio either via FM or DAB+, according to a recent consumer survey conducted by GfK on behalf of the ZVEI. A good 40 per cent even state that they often listen to the radio. This puts traditional radio reception at the top of audio users' favourites. The results of the survey also show how much audio and radio are part of everyday life. 86 per cent of respondents use a car radio, for example, and almost three quarters use a radio at home.