News

RTVS in cooperation with the service supplier Towercom a.s. extends the coverage of the territory and population of Slovakia with the digital radio broadcasting signal in the T-DAB+ standard. From 13 October, listeners can also listen to all RTVS Slovak Radio's programme services via the new T-DAB+ transmitter in Považská Bystrica, on transmission channel 8A. The radiated power of the transmitter will be 1.8 kW and will serve listeners in Považská Bystrica and the surrounding area. RTVS is thus continuing its efforts to gradually cover the Bratislava - Žilina motorway link as well as other sections of motorways and expressways in Slovakia with the T-DAB+ signal.

"RT1 IN THE MIX" can now be received via DAB+ in the greater Ingolstadt area. More than 400,000 people can now receive tracks from Germany's number 1 radio DJ Enrico Ostendorf around the clock. The DAB+ station RT1 IN THE MIX is expanding its reception area to include the entire Ingolstadt area. "We are very pleased that with RT1 IN THE MIX we are now also addressing the diversity of offerings in the young target group with our programme in Ingolstadt and the surrounding counties," says Dr. Bernhard Hock, Managing Director of rt1 media group. The rt1.media group is the subsidiary of the Pressedruck media group (Augsburger Allgemeine, Main-Post, Südkurier, Allgäuer Zeitung) for the electronic media sector, based in Augsburg.

On 29 October, the new radio station Radio Wellenrausch, based at Lübeck Airport, goes on the air. This is not a date chosen at random, because on the same day the radio medium celebrates its 100th anniversary. Radio Wellenrausch is a private, commercial radio programme received in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg via DAB+ and IP Audio. The programme aims to emotionally pick up its listeners with good mood music. The station will start with a soft opening and further expand its programme in the weeks that follow.

28 per cent of Dutch households now own a radio equipped with DAB+. This is according to figures from CBS, Central Bureau of Statistics. While last year 24 per cent of Dutch households still owned a radio equipped with digital airwave reception, by 2023 this percentage will have grown to 28 per cent. This includes a radio equipped with DAB+ in the home and/or car. Incidentally, all new cars have been delivered with digital radio reception as standard since 2021.

It took extensive work to get the local radio station in Stryn on DAB, but now Radio Stryn is thundering into local DAB. Last year, Radio Stryn was granted a licence to set up local DAB in Nordfjord and Sunnfjord. The DAB equipment has now been installed and the local radio station is no longer only available on FM. "This is a local DAB that will cover Stryn and Hornindal," says radio manager Ove Andre Aarskog. He points out that you have to run a channel search to find Radio Stryn on the DAB radio. New channels do not appear automatically. A grant from the Norwegian Media Authority has made it possible to roll out DAB in the area. In practical terms, this has been realised by renting Telenor's facility at Veten/Hogden. "We have had crucial help in the process from the Norwegian Local Radio Association, represented by technical manager Eivind Engberg," Aarskog tells the newspaper Fjordingen, which owns Radio Stryn. The DAB equipment was installed by Bakkenett AS from Hamar.

In October, Radio 2 launched a new sister series - the digital radio channel R2 Altpop. The chatter- and commercial-free channel features alternative pop all day, every day. The R2 Altpop DAB channel plays alternative music from Estonian and foreign artists. Digiradio R2 Altpop is R2's first test channel of its kind, free of news, chat and mainstream music. The Altpop channel is suitable for listeners who want a change from chart hits. DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) is the standard for digital radio broadcasting. To listen to a DAB channel, you need a device with DAB+ signal reception support. Most newer cars have DAB+ reception, and some radios support it. The R2 Altpop channel can be found alongside other DAB channels.

"We love the 80s and know that many people in NRW do too," says Marco Maier, Managing Director of the FFH MEDIENGRUPPE, to which the 80s radio station harmony also belongs. From 10 October 2023, it can also be heard throughout the state with its own programme in North Rhine-Westphalia and wants to become NRW's big 80s community together with its new listeners. "We can also see from our streaming sessions that many people between the Rhine and Ruhr already like to listen to us via the Internet. We are now offering all of them their 80s radio harmony on DAB+, of course with regional content from North Rhine-Westphalia," says Maier.

From 6 to 12 November, Digital Radio Flanders is organising a new edition of the "Week of Digital Radio". Central slogan of the new campaign will be "Digital Radio has it all". Digital radio participants in Flanders - either via DAB+ or Radioplayer - already got a preview last week of what to expect during the new campaign week. The kick-off will take place with the announcement of the results of a new IPSOS survey on digital radio, as the previous one on this subject already dates from two years ago. IPSOS will deliver the results a week before, i.e. at the end of October.

The organizers of the 2023 WorldDAB Summit have published the events program. The Summit, which is open to all interested parties, is in Munich and online on Nov. 8. It follows the WorldDAB General Assembly the day before, which is for members only. Speakers for the Summit include: Dr Thorsten Schmiege, president of Bayerischen Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM), speaking on long-term strategies for radio and audio. Hervé Godechot, a board member with Arcom, who will explain how France plans to cover 60% of the country with DAB+ by next year. Christiana Attrams of the engineering division of Ghana’s National Communications Authority, addressing the Summit as part of the focus on Africa’s DAB+ rollout.

From Thursday 12 October, there is a new radio programme for Ingolstadt and the region: The station "Gong 96.3 in Ingolstadt" can now be received via DAB+ in around 400,000 households. "We are very pleased that our award-winning programme can now also be received in the heart of Bavaria. For many commuters travelling daily towards Munich - but also from the greater Munich area towards Ingolstadt - this is a real added value," says Gong 96.3 managing director Johannes Ott.