News

WorldDAB’s latest market report reveals that, by the end of Q2 2018, over 71 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific – up from 58 million in Q2 2017.

New DAB transmitters in East Anglia, the South West, Kent, South Wales and North East Scotland are now fully working and carrying programmes from SDL. The Sound Digital multiplex now has increased coverage to 83% of the UK from 77%, and is operated by a consortium of Bauer Media, Wireless and Arqiva. It launched in March 2016.

In October 2018, the Italian service provider PRAIS announced cooperation with its Polish counterpart BCAST. The purpose of the cooperation is to provide to Italian broadcasters a possibility to create high quality DAB+ services at lower cost. The effectiveness of cooperation was confirmed during the launch of the first two multiplexes of DAB+ radio in Sardinia

In the recently released Q3 report from RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research), UK listeners are becoming more digital, while overall radio reach remains high. Most people in the UK listen to radio stations: 89% for the third quarter. That number has stayed in the tight 89% – 91% in each Q3 since 2011.

Four million more listeners across the UK can now receive 19 further radio stations on DAB digital radio for the first time following the launch of new transmitters covering parts of East Anglia, the South West, Kent, South Wales and North East Scotland.

The Sound Digital multiplex in the UK has completed its coverage expansion, adding another four million potential listeners. As a result, more listeners than ever have access to the 19 digital radio stations offered by the multiplex, covering parts of East Anglia, the South West, Kent, South Wales and North East Scotland, boosting coverage from 77 to 83% of the UK.

Four million more listeners across the UK can now receive 19 further radio stations on DAB digital radio for the first time following the launch of new transmitters covering parts of East Anglia, the South West, Kent, South Wales and North East Scotland. In total 19 new transmitters have been added to the network, meaning that four million more listeners now have access to the Sound Digital stations, increasing coverage to 83% of the UK from 77%.

South Africa Deputy Minister for Communications Pinky Kekana has encouraged small radio stations, including campus radio stations, to expand into the digital platform and continue to churn out dynamic and informative content. The Deputy Minister also urged community radio stations to ensure they are ready for digital migration once the government was able to work with them.

Digital radio listening has grown considerably in the past quarter. This is evident from the listening figures for the third quarter of 2018 of RAJAR. The digital listening share increased by 2.2 percentage points to 52.4% in the past quarter. Three-quarters of digital listening still takes place via DAB. Partly because more and more new cars have standard DAB on board, already more than 92% , the share of DAB rose by more than 2 percentage points. But at home, the growth is still there, because 64.1% of adults claim to have a DAB radio at home.

Sessions slated for the two-day event comprise “Why Radio Is Robust in a Competitive Audio Environment;” “Voice Control, Devices and How Listeners are Consuming Radio at Home and in the Car;” “Digital radio in the Car - Getting it Right;” “Country Marketing Updates - Quick Fire Forum;” and "DAB for Success - New Content, New Brands, New markets.”