News

LGBTQ+ radio station GlitterBeam will launch on DAB in Blackpool this Friday, 24 March.The station has been streaming online since July 2019, before being made available on small scale DAB in the North East of England, in Cambridgeshire and in Coventry. Founders Eugenio Ceriello and Michael Walton-Dalzell said: “We are extremely excited to broadcast in Blackpool, with its vibrant LGBTQ+ scene, and we hope to bring our “Music with Sparkle” from the Blackpool Tower, where the transmitter is."

In Saxony, radio listeners will get an even greater choice on DAB+ digital radio from the beginning of April. According to information from teltarif.de, the network operator Media Broadcast is expected to launch a state-wide multiplex in the Free State on Monday, 3 April. Various test broadcasts have already been observed from various locations in Saxony over the past few days.

DAB+ continues to roll out progressively in France and in the regions. Today, 45% of French people are able to receive digital terrestrial radio, compared to 40% in October 2021. This increase will continue in 2023 with the arrival of transmitters in new cities such as Montpellier, Béziers, Narbonne, Nîmes Alès, Perpignan, Prades, Reims, Épernay, Vitry-le-François, Châlons-en-Champagne, Charleville-Mézières and Troyes! It is important that the 39.3 million French listeners have access to a simpler and more qualitative radio listening experience.

The Czech radio airwaves will be expanded by a new station Radio Energic within a few months, most likely in the first half of this year. It will be based in Mladá Boleslav, but it will not focus only on the Central Bohemian region. According to its managing director Tomáš Veselý, the monthly operation of the radio will cost several hundred thousand Czech crowns. The Energy radio group reaches almost 2.5 million listeners in the German market, with DAB+ also helping significantly. "In terms of listenership, we want to reach at least tens of thousands of listeners in the future. Of course, we know that this is a target that can be met within a few years. It will also depend on the availability of our coverage," the head of Radio Energic explained.

17 March marks one year since the Polish Radio launched a special broadcast in the Ukrainian language. Polish Radio for Ukraine is an information, journalistic and music station, which was one of the first in Poland to start broadcasting special information services aimed at the incoming Ukrainian community. The Polish Radio for Ukraine project continues to gradually expand its programming and provides reliable and objective information to refugees from Ukraine. Polskie Radio for Ukraine is available in digital technology on DAB+, and via the Polskie Radio online player and mobile apps.

A boom in commercial radio listeners at breakfast and drive time has led to a 6.7% year on year increase in the number of Australians listening to commercial radio across the five major metropolitan markets, according to the latest GfK radio ratings. “We are seeing the biggest increase in listeners among young audiences 18-24. This is partly driven by the +52% increase year on year in listeners to the wide range of innovative commercial DAB+ stations,” Mr Ennals said. Commercial DAB+ stations again performed strongly with over 2.8 million weekly listeners, up 36% from 2.07 million a year ago.

As the digital transition of radio accelerates and mobile audio consumption becomes an increasingly important part of French people's lives, Radio Classique is responding to this transformation in usage with a project to develop its DAB+ network throughout 2023 and the launch of a new mobile application from 21 March. For Radio Classique, which has five times fewer terrestrial transmitters than its main competitors, DAB+ is an opportunity to increase its coverage and offer continuity of listening on the move.

16 March saw the start of DAB+ broadcasts by the Veneto DAB consortium, a local DAB+ network operator belonging to the Aeranti-Corallo association system. The association hopes that MIMIT will initiate the procedures for the allocation of all Dab+ frequencies in each technical area under the PNAF (frequency plan) as soon as possible. Veneto DAB operates on frequency 8B with a transmitter site located in Terranegra (Padua). Elena Porta, sole director of Veneto DAB, expressed the hope that "the entire local digital radio system will be up and running as soon as possible."

Radio Rock, like many other broadcasters, is investing in DAB+ to expand its catchment area. The Rome-based broadcaster, however, is probably one of the first to launch a specific campaign on digital radio. And so these days, Radio Rock is present - also - in the printed press, reminding the potential Lombard audience of its almost regional coverage. Like others, it can be heard in digital quality in the provinces of Milan, Monza, Lodi, Pavia, Brescia, Bergamo and Cremona.

The 90’s group of stations from KIIS, 97.3, Mix and 96FM once again have the numbers in the DAB+ results for Survey 1. With 338,000 listeners nationally, they lead Coles Radio (325,000) and the 80’s group (WSFM, GOLD, 97.3 KIIS, Mix, 96FM) with 323,000. RnB Fridays was reasonably stable with 312,000, just in front of OLDSKOOL HITS 90’s with 304,000.