News

South London stations Select Radio, Rainbow Radio and Croydon FM have confirmed they are applying for the South London small-scale DAB multiplex. South London DAB CIC has been established by the stations with the help of Niocast Digital, South London station Colourful Radio and radio executive Chris Hurst. “Select Radio has been around since 2003 in one form or another” says Director Tom Marley, “and we’ve been planning the move to DAB for some time now. “We’re looking forward to the quality that DAB will deliver and being able to reach lots more listeners. It will also be great to give access to broadcast for so many radio services who haven’t had the opportunity in the past ”

ORF should finally make its three radio programmes available on DAB+. For this reason, committed Austrians have signed a popular complaint which has now been submitted to KommAustria. The Verein Digitalradio Österreich supports these efforts and the complainant, Dipl.-Ing. Heinrich Thonet, and fully agrees with his argumentation of the violation of the ORF's coverage mandate in the radio sector. The submission by the law firm to KommAustria took place on 6 June. KommAustria will now decide on the matter in the coming weeks.

Železná Ruda in West Bohemia, which lies close to the border with neighbouring Bavaria, would be the eighth location to receive the signal of the public multiplex ČRo DAB+ this year. The town in the Pilsen region would be followed by seven other sites, the coordination of which has already been announced by Czech Radio. A 100-watt transmitter with vertical polarisation is to be located in the Vodárna locality. "If everything goes well, we will see another seven or eight transmitters of the CRo DAB+ network in autumn, which will thicken and improve the coverage of our multiplex," said Pavel Balíček, Head of Signal Distribution at Czech Radio.

New WorldDAB member Gracenote's automotive metadata solutions offer consistent and quality coverage globally, powering search and discovery across audio, video and sports content. Find out more in our Q&A with Maryann Faricy - VP, Global Automotive Products, Gracenote and Thorsten Böhmer - VP, Automotive Sales, International, Gracenote.

Two community radio stations in South Hertfordshire have joined forces to apply for the South Herts SSDAB multiplex licence. Mix 92.6 based in St Albans and Vibe 107.6 in Watford have set up South Herts DAB Ltd with the help of Niocast Digital and long standing senior radio executive Chris Hurst. Station Manager at Mix 92.6, Nick Hazell, said: “Bringing an affordable way for radio stations to reach South Hertfordshire listeners is an exciting new venture for us. We’re looking forward to enabling local groups and national stations to hit the airwaves.” Vibe 107.6 Managing Director Howard Groves, added: “We are really excited about the potential for DAB in the South Herts area. “Not only will we be providing our listeners with a further way of engaging with Vibe 107.6FM, but DAB will open up opportunities for other community based stations to expand their reach.”

Residents of the Mons Charleroi Métropole and Région du Centre regions in French-speaking Belgium will finally have access to a wider range of radio stations thanks to the roll-out of DAB+ broadcasting tests for 13 new radio stations. Although these stations have already been broadcasting on DAB+ for more than a year in the Mons region, coverage will be considerably extended from this evening so that a wider population can benefit from this technology! This 2-month test period will allow us to iron out any technical problems and make adjustments to optimise reception, particularly in white areas. Listeners are invited to share their remarks and comments in order to improve broadcast quality. Of the 13 new radio stations, two are already enjoying huge success on FM and other digital platforms. Firstly, CK RADIO, a radio station specialising in pop/electro music, which features famous DJs such as Robin Schulz every night. Then there's C-RAP, a station dedicated to urban culture.

In-vehicle DAB+ is now “reaching maturity”, said WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon as he opened WorldDAB Automotive 2023 in Paris on Thursday. Hannon cited figures showing that 96% of new cars sold within the European Union came with DAB+, meaning 10 million new vehicles on the road in Europe with DAB+ in 2022. He described this level of DAB+ in-car penetration as “completely transforming the radio landscape,” adding: “this change is clearly illustrated by listening figures in the UK, where, for the first time, DAB now accounts for more than 50 percent of all radio listening in cars.” Over 500 delegates from 60 countries gathered at Maison de la Radio, home of Radio France in Paris, and online for the annual conference, which brings together the broadcast and automotive sectors. All the major automotive OEMs, along with many key suppliers, attended the event, which was organised by WorldDAB, the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio.

Broadcasters around Thanet, Dover & Folkestone are coming together as Kent Coast DAB Limited to apply for a small-scale DAB licence. Academy FM Thanet, Kent Coast Community Broadcasters Ltd and Kent Capacity Co Ltd will but submitting an application for the Margate, Dover & Folkestone multiplex. Debbie Day, Station Manager of Academy FM Thanet, said: “We are really excited by the opportunity to develop our service on small-scale DAB and look forward to working with our partners. In the future, we along with others we will be able to offer more choice of services, support more charities and organisations and reach the wider community.”

Radio remains an essential part of the in-car experience, and is the most listened-to audio platform in the car, important new research released today has confirmed. The “Dashboard Dialogue” study 2023 is a major survey of recent and prospective car buyers conducted by Edison Research for WorldDAB – the global industry forum for DAB digital radio. It provides a more in-depth review of DAB radio’s usability in the car - with videos from consumers detailing their likes and dislikes, plus what they love about radio in the car today. The new research was conducted across France, Germany and the UK, through in-car interviews with radio listeners, and over 2,400 online interviews. Reinforcing the need for broadcast radio to remain prominent in the dashboard, the study found that 91% of recent and prospective car buyers said it was important that their recent or next vehicle has DAB/DAB+ or FM radio.

Australia’s newest radio station, Disrupt Radio, has announced it will officially launch onto the airwaves on Monday, June 26, 2023, delivering daily talk programming and content via DAB+ digital radio and online. Focusing on catering to all ages and stages, the station aims to provide a new angle on modern radio with candid conversations that cover business, entrepreneurship and innovation for the “dreamers and doers.” Musician, activist and entrepreneur Sir Bob Geldof will assist in the Melbourne-based station’s launch, hosting Breakfast alongside Libbi Gorr for Disrupt’s inaugural week on the airwaves.