News

The "Fête de la Radio" is back for a third edition on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 June 2023. As in the first two editions, these two days will be an opportunity for radio stations and listeners alike to rally round this medium, which plays a key role in the daily lives of the French. This year DAB+ will be in the spotlight for Arcom, with the aim of raising awareness of all the advantages of digital radio. Following its deployment in cities such as Paris, Marseille, Tours and La Roche-sur-Yon, DAB+ will pass the symbolic milestone of covering 50% of the French population this summer. A trial is also underway in the French overseas territories.

In recent months, RAS has further expanded the DAB+ digital radio network with the commissioning of transmission systems at the Proves, Renon, Mezzaselva, Rina in Badia, Moso in Passiria and Brenner stations. In the areas covered by these transmission systems, the reception quality was significantly improved. The digital network of local radio stations was also upgraded by RAS. From 14 additional transmission systems, 15 private radio stations can now be heard in excellent quality. Since, thanks to DAB+, more stations can now be received throughout the entire province, and since the majority of the population has a digital radio set, RAS will switch off a further 13 FM transmitters of the Ö1, ORF Radio Tirol, Ö3 and Radio Rumantsch programmes at four transmitter sites. This will reduce operating and maintenance costs.

Listeners in the region of Wuppertal and the Lippe district around Lügde can look forward to improved reception of the 16 stations of the nationwide private DAB+ programme package. This will be made possible by the commissioning of the broadcasting technology at the locations Wuppertal-Küllenhahn and on the Köterberg near Lügde, broadcasting on DAB+ channel 9D.

The Prado del Rey Auditorium will host a conference on 'Trends in European public audiovisual services' on Friday 9 June, starting at 09:30. The event will be attended by Elena Sánchez Caballero, acting president of RTVE, and will bring together representatives involved in decision-making and opinion leaders in the field of audiovisual public policies. During the presentations, Spain's inaction in terms of the deployment and implementation of digital terrestrial radio in DAB+ will also be addressed, as well as the emergence of gatekeepers and walled gardens as a possible threat to the continuity of public audiovisual service provision.

With AUDI AG, another company has indicated its user interfaces to the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for Commercial Broadcasting (BLM) for its vehicles. Dr. Thorsten Schmiege, President of BLM: "Access to local news or current alerts - radio plays a central role in the car and must therefore be easy to find. Our discussions with the providers have borne fruit. By displaying the user interfaces at BLM, the importance of finding radio content in the car will be strengthened in the long term." According to the State Media Treaty (MStV), providers must notify media platforms or user interfaces to the state media authority responsible for them.

Virgin Radio today announces that the award-winning pop up radio station Virgin Radio Pride UK is returning to the airwaves for its third season on 1st June. Back by popular demand, Virgin Radio Pride UK will broadcast a schedule jam-packed with the best pop-dance and pop-R&B music from the last twenty years, plus all the biggest talking points from the community in one big celebration of LGBTQ+ culture. Virgin Radio Pride UK will be broadcast from June 1st to August 31st. Listen to Virgin Radio Pride UK online, via the Virgin Radio app or via DAB Digital radio in London and Scotland.

Moorlands Radio is now broadcasting on small-scale DAB digital radio as the new multiplex for its area goes live. The new Congleton and Leek digital mux was licenced by Ofcom last year and is now fully live carrying a host of new radio stations. Commenting on the launch, Station Chairman Gary Dunn said: “We have been working on this for the last 3 years with our partners at Moorlands DAB. Having the FM transmitter network of 103.7 and 97.3fm along with the DAB transmitters will allow us to provide even more programmes. As part of our DAB launch, the regulator has agreed the station can split some of the output between FM and DAB.”

A new joint venture between Radio Ashford, Nation Broadcasting and Kent Capacity Co Ltd will be applying for the small-scale DAB licence covering the Ashford & Dungeness area of Kent. The new company is Ashford DAB Limited and will be submitting an application to Ofcom before the closing date of the current round which is June 30th 2023. Richard Collins, Director of Radio Ashford, said: “Bringing small-scale DAB to the Ashford area is an exciting opportunity that will allow us to further develop our service and, working with our partners, enhance the choice of radio services available in the area. Radio has been an important part of local life for many years, and our bid will help ensure that radio remains a strong local friend for many years to come.”

Broadcasting across the UK from its headquarters at a smart business estate in Vauxhall, south London, Fix Radio is one of the new breed of independent specialist radio stations busily reinvigorating a medium that recently turned 100. The shows recorded here, and transmitted on DAB, reach 392,000 UK tradespeople each month, three-quarters of the industry’s total workforce – it’s the fastest growing broadcaster, with a 250 per cent rise in listeners. This cornucopia of specialist radio is the legacy of Britain’s love affair with Digital Audio Broadcasting. DAB was launched here in 1993, and has gone on to rule our airwaves. London now boasts over 100 DAB broadcasters, giving it more radio stations than any other city on earth.

The BBC has begun an information campaign to help transition listeners of Radio 4 Long Wave (LW) to alternative BBC platforms. This follows the announcement in May 2022 that the BBC is to stop scheduling separate content for Radio 4 LW in anticipation of the closure of the LW platform, owned and operated by a third party, which is coming to the end of its life as a technology. Radio 4 LW is starting to run targeted on air trails from today, giving listeners plenty of advance notice of the coming changes. Digital listening has grown significantly over the past decade as the range of alternatives has become easier to switch to, and listeners are increasingly accessing content elsewhere on the BBC. The audiences for Radio 4 LW are small, but we know there are some who still tune in on LW for their favourite programmes.