News

It's on! DAB+, digital terrestrial radio, arrived in Franche-Comté on Thursday 15 June. In Besançon and the surrounding area of 87 communes, to start with, thanks to 13 radio stations, mainly associations, grouped together under the same pooling operator, managed by the directors of Villages FM and Radio Campus, Alain Bulle and Martial Greuillet. After five years of effort and occasional setbacks, the group has succeeded in setting up a collective antenna on the Montfaucon mast, ensuring that it reaches a catchment area of 451,420 potential listeners, or even more depending on the terrain. The aim is now to expand towards Pontarlier, Vesoul and Belfort-Montbéliard... A second operator, with wider aims, also broadcasts regionally, including France Bleu and RCF.

An initiative motion on the Private Radio Act was introduced in Parliament, which will give radio providers more opportunities in the digital radio sector. In future, it will be possible for a provider to broadcast 6 DAB+ programmes per coverage area instead of the previous 2. Through the expansion to 6 programmes, the digital transformation is now being accelerated insofar as broadcasters established on the market will be able to offer new digital programmes in addition to existing analogue programmes in the future and thus significantly expand their offering, while on the other hand a broader offering for listeners is guaranteed.

Progress Digital plans to launch its pilot DAB+ multiplex in Benesov and Buchovo during the second half of this year. Jakub Juhas, CEO of Digital Broadcasting, made the announcement at Wednesday's Digimedia 2023 conference. The two companies belong to the portfolio of media group Pohoda, which also operates TV and radio programmes on its own network. "We would like to launch experimental DAB+ broadcasting in the second half of this year. The launch of the two new transmitters is significant for us, not in terms of testing DAB technology, but in terms of the SFN (single frequency network, ed.)," Juhas said, adding that the radio network will include stations Rádia Čas and Čas Roc.

Today, an initiative motion on the Private Radio Act was introduced in Parliament, giving radio providers more opportunities in the digital radio sector. The biggest change is an amendment to § 9 of the Act. Previously, radio operators were restricted in applying for broadcasting licences and could apply for a maximum of 2 DAB+ licences. Now the paragraph will be adapted so that a radio operator can apply for up to 6 DAB+ licences. This applies both to stand-alone stations and to stations in a media network. Currently there are 16 national and 15 regional radio programmes on DAB+ in Austria. Some radio operators would like to broadcast several stations, but this has so far been prevented by the restriction in paragraph 9 of the law. With the amendment to the law, the bundling of several licences with one radio broadcaster is now possible.

Today an important course was set for the further development of digital terrestrial radio in Austria: An amendment to the Private Radio Act will allow private radio broadcasters to broadcast more DAB+ stations than before in addition to their FM programmes. This will promote the expansion of digital terrestrial radio in Austria and broaden the range of Austrian radio programmes broadcast via DAB+. "We welcome this prudent and important proposal by the federal government to promote digital terrestrial radio and thus to safeguard radio diversity in Austria," said Corinna Drumm, Managing Director of the Association of Austrian Private Broadcasters.

towerCast, a service and infrastructure operator and France's second largest broadcaster, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire RadioKing, an innovative company specialising in online broadcasting solutions and services for digital radio. RadioKing has experienced spectacular growth since its creation in 2013, rapidly becoming a leader in the field of digital radio broadcasting. Its all-in-one platform enables radio stations and broadcasters to create, manage and distribute their audio content online simply and efficiently. Its acquisition by towerCast paves the way for new, more comprehensive solutions that offer greater benefits to the customers of both companies.

Czech Radio, as the natural leader in the introduction of DAB+ digital radio, plans to launch seven new transmitters this year. Its representatives announced this today at the Digimedia 2023 industry conference. The exact terrain for the launch of the new sites has not yet been determined, but again the focus is on indoor signal coverage, both in the Czech Republic and Moravia. "At the moment we have seven new DAB+ transmitters in the pipeline, which we will almost certainly launch this year, 2023. Again, these are mostly transmitters that will significantly improve indoor DAB+ signal coverage in cities, both in Bohemia and Moravia." said Karel Zýka, Director of Technical and Administration at Czech Radio.

Broadcasters took the crusade to save AM directly to Capitol Hill yesterday in the first of two days dedicated to lobbying Congress. The day opened with “Radio’s Road To The Future,” a presentation partnership between the NAB, Jacobs Media, and others, aimed to shed light on the importance of AM radio in the digital age. Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were also on hand to underscore the critical role of AM radio in the National Public Warning System. On that topic, a significant issue highlighted during the conference was the relationship between the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and AM. It was pointed out that AM radio’s continued presence in dashboards is essential for the efficiency and reliability of the EAS.

Initiated in 2021 by Arcom, the third "Fête de la radio" will be held on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 June 2023. For two days, listeners and professionals alike will be celebrating this medium, which is listened to by almost 40 million people in France every day. Special broadcasts, open days at national and local stations, concerts, conferences, entertainment and games - there are plenty of events planned for the occasion all over France, both in mainland France and overseas.

Now present in Angers since 13 June, Radio Orient is also announcing its arrival on DAB+ in the towns of Saumur and Cholet in July. The station is continuing to expand and is adding new areas of coverage, ensuring continuity of reception of its programmes in major conurbations as well as on major roads. This new launch in Angers brings the number of areas operated by Radio Orient to more than 48 on DAB+ and 11 on FM. This makes Radio Orient one of the largest networks currently operating using this technology.