News

Südwestrundfunk (SWR) is further expanding its transmitter network for DAB+ digital radio reception in Baden-Württemberg. The Elztal site went live on 13 December 2023, while the Reutlingen site went live on 12 December 2023. The commissioning of the Elztal site improves DAB+ coverage along the B294 motorway in the Waldkirch/Elzach area in frequency block (channel) 8D. The commissioning of the Reutlingen site will improve DAB+ coverage along the Bundesstraße 28, Bundesstraße 464 and Bundesstraße 297 as well as in Reutlingen, Eningen, Pfullingen, Pliezhausen and Metzingen, also in frequency block (channel) 8D.

In the first quarter of 2024, the Government of Navarre - an autonomous region in the northeast of Spain - will award the first 26 DAB licences in the region, after the Evaluation Committee of the local DAB tender announced the evaluation of the 45 proposals received. There are 26 licences to be distributed in the following localities: Pamplona / Iruña (8 licences), Tudela (4), Estella - Lizarra (3), Altsasu / Alsasua (2), Baztan (2), Larraun (2), Lesaka (2), Tafalla (2) and Sangüesa / Zangoza (1).

With the rapidly growing popularity and capabilities of digital radio, from September 2024 local public broadcasters have the chance to expand their reach by using DAB+. The RDI has created a digital layer suitable for local public and commercial broadcasters. For local digital radio, the Netherlands is divided into 57 geographical areas to which frequency space is attached. For each allotment, 18 licences are available. So there are 1026 licences in total. From 12 December 2023 to 6 February 2024, local public broadcasters can apply for local DAB+ licences, valid until 1 September 2030. After 6 February 2024, the ministry will determine how many licences are still available and start the application and allocation procedure for commercial broadcasters.

Digital radio (DAB+) trials in Estonia started last year, and now the Consumer Protection and Technical Supervision Authority (CTSA) has drawn up new principles on how to proceed with the trials and has started to prepare a competition for frequency licences. The testing period for digital radio in Estonia started last year and was initially due to run until the end of December, but was extended until the last day of June next year. Once the test period is over, frequency authorisations for digital radios will be issued following an open call for tenders. The first official digital radio programmes should therefore be broadcast in Estonia in the second half of next year.

At a meeting with journalists on 12 December, České Radiokomunikace referred to plans for DAB+ digital radio. "We believe that after the end of the DAB+ auction, the broadcasting will develop and listeners will buy new receivers," Marcel Procházka, director of the legal and regulatory department of the operator, told journalists. České Radiokomunikace also wants to dust off the delayed "DAB+ certified" stamp. "We want to launch marketing activities and cooperate with radio manufacturers and dealers. We want to bring the market to a similar level as in the case of the "DVB-T2 verified" mark," Marcel Procházka told Digital Radio.

Fun Coast Digital Director Alistair Clarke MBE takes a look at small-scale DAB can work well for a community. "Fun Coast Digital CIC successfully bid to Ofcom to run the digital radio transmitter in Blackpool, was awarded the licence in May 2022 and three months later on September 1st we put the first few stations live on air. One year on, in-car entertainment screens in Blackpool are bursting with 11 locally-broadcast digital radio stations providing an eclectic mix of chat and music."

The radio landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia could soon become a good deal bigger. In addition to the state-wide DAB+ distribution of currently 16 private radio stations, there will also be regional distribution of a further 16 programmes in the future. The capacities for the four regions: Cologne/Bonn/Aachen, South Westphalia/Dortmund, East Westphalia/Lippe and Wuppertal/Düsseldorf/Mönchengladbach are expected to be put out to tender in January 2024. A possible three-year grant for the programme organisers will also be published with the call for proposals. Funding will primarily be provided for regional/local content in the programmes.

Media DAB is a consortium of Italian local radio stations, more than 100 in number, that is present in eight of the 20 Italian regions. These regions will soon be joined by Veneto and Sicily - including the cities of Palermo and Catania.

Ángel García Castillejo, Director of Audiovisual Policies, Public Service and International of the Spanish Radio and Television Corporation (CRTVE), announced on 30 November, during a conference on DTT organised by FENITEL, that they will begin broadcasting DAB+, "now regularly", in 2024, the year in which radio in Spain celebrates its first hundred years of regular broadcasting. "We estimate that by the spring of next year, there will be three million DAB+ receivers on wheels in our country," he added. Therefore, for the head of audiovisual policy at the public corporation, there are three million reasons to support this strategic move, which comes more than two decades late.

Ministers have come under mounting pressure to protect traditional TV and radio of tens of millions of people in the UK. TV and radio transmitted through an aerial is only guaranteed until the mid-2030s under current plans by the Government. But Broadcast 2040+, a coalition of campaigners, will use the data to press for terrestrial services and Freeview to be protected for at least another 17 years. The document, seen by the Daily Express, argues: “Millions of people access TV and radio content through broadcast services. Ofcom’s Media Nations 2023 report stated that broadcast TV has a strong weekly reach of 79% and the use of DAB radio services is rising with 88% of adults listening in for an average of 20 hours each week, the majority choosing terrestrial radio.”