News

Thomson Broadcast will acquire GatesAir, in a deal involving two manufacturers with deep radio and TV roots. The companies announced a definitive agreement for Thomson to acquire GatesAir from the Gores Group. Terms were not made public. The transaction is expected to close in the second half, pending regulatory approvals.

With the activation of a new test network in channel 10D at the beginning of May 2022, there is now sufficient capacity available in Bavaria to develop new innovations relating to DAB+ and test them in live operation. Comprehensive testing of the disaster warning service EWF (Emergency Warning Functionality) is planned. The EWF system, which the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Erlangen played a key role in developing, will in future, in close cooperation with Bayern Digital Radio GmbH and other partners, provide a targeted and comprehensive warning to the population in the event of a disaster via DAB+ for digital radios and public display boards in Germany enable Bavaria. Another topic is the testing of data services in the area of ​​TPEG Emergency Alerts and Warnings (EAW). This application provides disaster alerts to travelers with minimal distraction from traffic on navigation devices.

Fix Radio is now broadcasting nationally on DAB – five years after launching as the builder’s station in London. The station celebrated its fifth birthday last week with a post on social media documenting its journey from a small regional station to an everyday essential for tens of thousands of tradespeople across the country.

Radio’s options to remain relevant in the dashboard was a prevalent theme at last week’s Radio Show in Las Vegas. “Life in the Fast Lane,” moderated by Hubbard Radio CEO Ginny Morris, included findings from “The 2021 Car Buyers Study” conducted by Edison Research. More than nine in ten U.S. survey participants who listen to radio in the car agree with the statement, “radio keeps you company in the car” and 87% agree “you would miss your favorite radio stations if you couldn’t receive them in your car/vehicle.” In addition, 89% agree “radio should be standard in every vehicle.”

ACI Radio has officially launched - the new voice of the Automobile Club d'Italia, broadcast through DAB+, web, and in the future also by an app that will facilitate listening. ACI Radio offers a 24/7 schedule with music, entertainment, news, traffic and traffic news, weather information and programs on the most interesting topics related to mobility: from tourism to road safety, from sport to free time and historical motorsport.

Two new stations have been added to the first DAB+ private radio multiplex in North Rhine-Westphalia: ZOUND1 Max and ZOUND1 Mix. In the multiplex on channel 9D, all 16 station slots are currently occupied.

Broadcast Partners has launched the new national commercial DAB+ network; 13 radio stations can now be received on it. It will be broadcast on channel 9C. The radio stations broadcasting on the new network are Joe 70s & 80s, Kink, Kink Classics, K-Rock, Sunlite , Sublime CLX, Qmusic Non-stop, Qmusic Top 40, Radio Maria, Sky Nice & Easy, 538 Classics, Radio 10 80s Hits and Vintage Veronica.

As the ways consumers can access audio in the car continue to expand, automakers are looking at ways to find a balance between choice, safety, reliability and intuition. “One of the things that we think a lot about is finding that balancing act between giving customers choice – the kinds of things that they want to do, safety – we want the driver to focus on driving – but at the same time, we also want it to be intuitive,” says Albert Choi, who leads connect and journey services for Ford’s Smart Mobility division. On the latter point, radio scores high, Choi said this week at the NAB Show in Las Vegas. “Radio is super intuitive – you turn it on, and it works great. We don't have that in some of the other methods, right? So we think about how we have reliability, how do we create an intuitive experience, yet to be able to balance that with where folks are able to choose the way that they want to consume audio.”

Newslinet interviews Eugenio la Teana, head of innovation at RTL 102.5, member of the Steering Board of WorldDAB and Country Manager of Radioplayer. "Obviously, the digital offer is increasing thanks to the renewal of the car fleet: those who buy a new vehicle find themselves in possession of a DAB offer that in addition to having a quality of the best features of the FM also offers a superior choice in terms of of content," says la Teana.

The government of the United Kingdom has published its response to the Radio & Audio Review alongside its wider White Paper on broadcasting ‘Up Next.’ The government response to the Digital Radio and Audio Review outlines its position on the Review’s overall key findings and responds in detail to those of the Review’s 42 recommendations calling for specific government action.