News

I recently presented at the WorldDAB Automotive Event on a subject that I don’t think any station manager or technical manager would ever have considered just five years ago. I started with a familiar opening: the evolution of radio from its first days in vehicles. How easy it was for broadcasters, who just needed to broadcast a single, mono, audio channel on an AM frequency. As technology has evolved, the capabilities of vehicles and broadcast radio have evolved: FM, stereo, RDS. Each step has moved the experience forward, kept up with listener expectations, and demanded more competency and coordination between broadcasters and manufacturers. The arrival of digital radio demands more capability and competency: text information, album art, logos. These are baseline expectations, as fundamental as transmitting (stereo) audio without distortion.

Nicola Bomio has been President of the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP) since April. In an interview with persoenlich.com, the head of radio at CH Media explains where he wants to set the tone in future and how he sees the relationship with the SRG. When will private radio stations switch off FM? "This is a decision that every company and every member of our association can make for themselves. Around half of the members will reduce their FM capacity at the end of the year. And then there are others who will continue to broadcast on FM until the end of 2026, as permitted by the Federal Council."

In the first of our series of short interviews with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2024, Nilesh Mandalia, VP Sales at DekTec says they will be highlighting their DAB Test tools in Amsterdam. DekTec is well known for providing PC-add on cards and USB devices, complemented with variety of Test & Measurement orientated applications.

Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) is pleased to announce that commercial radio share has reached its highest level since 2014, climbing to an impressive 74.6%. This surge reflects nearly 10% growth over the past three years, underscoring radio’s role in connecting communities and delivering trusted content. Radio’s reach continues to expand beyond traditional settings. Listeners in car growing by 4.8% YOY, with over 10 million people tuning in weekly this way. These listeners spend an average of 5 hours and 26 minutes tuned in, integrating it into their routines. Commercial DAB+ only radio stations are also on the rise, attracting an audience of over 2.6 million. TSL on Commercial DAB+ only stations have increased by 18 minutes to 6 hours and 26 minutes, highlighting the growing popularity of digital radio.

Digitalisation by commercial radio stations is finally taking off in the Czech Republic. The operator Teleko digital is preparing the implementation of its next transmitter with final parameters in the next few days. Strážník in Vysočina will switch to the new frequency during Thursday 29 August and with it the power will increase from the current 1 kW to 5 kW. The multiplex of the operator Teleko digital will have the same coverage as the digital broadcasting of Czech Radio in Vysočina. On Thursday 29 August, from 11 am to 5 pm, the Jihlava - Strážník transmitter will undergo a maintenance break to install a new combiner. After this, the TELEKO DAB radio network will be able to increase the radiated power from the current 1 kW to 5 kW. At the same time, the switchover to the new channel 10D will take place and the existing frequency block 8A will be switched off.

For decades, FM was the radio standard par excellence, but now digital DAB+ is in the starting blocks: Luxembourg has launched the ‘Appel public’ for its first national multiplex. Unlike in the past, the country is not a pioneer, but a latecomer. While our Belgian and German neighbours have long been setting up new digital radio networks in parallel with the tried-and-tested FM operation, DAB radio silence has prevailed in the Grand Duchy. DAB stands for Digital Audio Broadcasting and, according to the EU, the DAB+ version will one day completely replace FM. The ‘Service des médias, de la connectivité et de la politique numérique’ (SMC) has now launched the official tender for the national DAB+ multiplex on channel 7D.

4EVER49 Radio can now be received better via DAB+ in the provinces of Gelderland and Utrecht. The radio station has rented additional capacity for this purpose. 4EVER49 RADIO already broadcasts nationwide on DAB+ via MTVNL's network in the Netherlands on channel 7D. Since this network cannot be received well in all parts of the Netherlands, the radio station has decided to rent extra capacity from regional lots. This had already happened in the provinces of North Brabant/Limburg (channel 7C), North Holland/Flevoland (channel 8B) and Friesland (channel 5A). Recently, the radio station has also been improved in the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland via channel 12B.

On 1 September, Radio Sunnmøre launches its own DAB channel 24 hours a day. Next year, in 2025, Radio Sunnmøre will celebrate 40 years on the air. In the beginning, it was a small local radio station that broadcast a few hours in Ålesund, but in recent years Radio Sunnmøre has broadcast 73 hours a week on FM and DAB throughout Sunnmøre. However, the local radio station has shared frequencies with two other radio stations, Radio Newlife and Ptro (formerly Radio Nordvest). Following requests from listeners, Radio Sunnmøre is now expanding its broadcasting area. ‘We have received so much feedback from our listeners in recent years that we should have our own channel. So we are now investing in this and have prepared a new broadcasting schedule to fill all the hours,’ says General Manager Ragnhild Kristine Vartdal Espelund.

The West Bohemian company RTI cz plans to significantly improve the coverage of its programme offer in the capital and its surroundings. The operator has said that it would like to broadcast from the former Spartakiada stadium with a power of up to 10 kW. The transmitter will be part of its nationwide network. "We have built a brand new professional 14 m high truss mast at the new site of Strahov stadium, which replaced the one located at the Evžen Rošický stadium. This is an important mast for our company and we are counting on it to cover part of the territory of the capital with FM and DAB signal. The station is equipped with Kathrein antennas and Rohde & Schwarz FM and DAB transmitters," said Andrea Jančová, RTI cz's communications manager.

Public local broadcasters have held their broadcasting licences for several months. Commercial broadcasters could apply for the broadcasting licence later. Regulator National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (RDI) recently started issuing broadcasting licences to commercial parties. Some of the requested licences were rejected, while others were under further investigation before a final verdict was given by the regulator. All licences issued have a term of six years and are valid until mid-2030. The overview of issued licences by allotment posted by RDI on its website shows that several commercial parties have received new broadcasting licences for local DAB+ in the past week.