News

Numerous companies have announced their separate plans to apply for small-scale DAB multiplexes in the capital of England as part of Round 5 of applications. RadioToday can confirm North London Digital, East London Radio, South of the River Digital, and City West Digital are among those currently preparing bids to be submitted to Ofcom ahead of the closing date on 30 June. U.DAB – the current North London trial SSDAB multiplex operator – has confirmed it will apply for the permanent licence. U.DAB has operated the Trial London multiplex since October 2015.

At the beginning of April 2023, ON AIR support was finally able to put its Schramberg (Sulgen district) transmitter into operation. The Schramberg transmitter supplies the town of Schramberg and the surrounding area, but also the area up to the A81, where the Raichberg transmitter takes over, and also supports the coverage in Villingen-Schwenningen and thus the seamless connection to the Donaueschingen transmitter. Furthermore, some valleys in the area towards the Brandenkopf transmitter are optimised.

The Broadcast Engineering & IT Conference starts on the NAB Show’s Saturday morning at 10 and concludes on Tuesday afternoon. A Sunday session will explore “Broadcasters and Hybrid Radio,” and another will look at the results of testing that support the NAB/Xperi petition asking the FCC to allow higher HD Radio power levels. David Layer, vice president, advanced engineering for NAB, is involved in both sessions, and Radio World asked him about them.

Finally, women in the north of Germany get their own radio station: FEMOTION RADIO can now also be received via DAB+ in the federal state of Hamburg and soon in the regions of Kiel and Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein. This means that Germany's women's radio station can potentially reach a further 2.3 million people via radio. The programme offers interesting as well as entertaining formats by women for women paired with the right music and is aimed in particular at modern, open-minded female listeners who actively embrace their feminine side.

Along with the launch of the new DAB+ transmitter Borský Mikuláš, which reaches Moravia with its signal, the Slovak public broadcaster is also planning to promote this technology among the public, according to the Digital Radio portal. The campaign will be launched in week 15 and will include radio and TV spots. The radio spots will be available on all RTVS radio stations from 11 April. A DAB+ spot promoting "čisté rádio" [pure radio] will be deployed on all the public broadcaster's TV channels at random intervals - depending on the advertising space.

The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority [Myndigheten för press, radio och tv / MPRT] plans to advertise free space in the DAB+ broadcasting networks for digital commercial radio in May 2023. The Authority estimates that the space corresponds to approximately seven national programme services and several regional stations. The licences will begin to apply in the early autumn of 2023. More detailed information will be provided in the call for applications in May. Prior to the call, there is a draft strategy for the granting of licences and draft regulations on the application procedure and impact assessment.

Towercom, in cooperation with the public broadcaster, has expanded the availability of DAB+ digital radio. Borský Mikuláš has been added to the existing transmitters in Bratislava, Košice, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Nitra, Trenčín, Rimavská Sobota and Dunajská Streda. "The Borský Mikuláš - Šaštín Stráže transmitter will cover the Záhorie region, including the D2 motorway between Bratislava - Brno and the Czech border," said RTVS. "With the launch of the Borský Mikuláš transmitter, the T-DAB+ signal coverage of the Slovak population will exceed 60 per cent, with simultaneous coverage of all regional towns."

Masters Radio will broadcast on DAB+ in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and a special pop-up stream will be available across the apps and websites of 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR as the first major of the year tees off. Greg Byrnes, Head of Content for Nine Radio, said: “After a great response last year we’re thrilled our listeners will again have access to the world’s best golf event through the power of radio. And it’s a total audio solution, across DAB+, streaming on our apps and websites, and regular updates on our Talk Radio stations during play with the Voice of Golf himself Graeme Agars, who incidentally is this year covering his 40th Masters.”

BMW was the first Bavarian car manufacturer to display its user interface in BMW and Mini vehicles at the Bavarian State Center for New Media. The president of BLM, Dr. Thorsten Schmiege, emphasised the significance of radio in cars, particularly the need for easy access to local news and warnings and observed that BMW sets a positive example by officially displaying its user interface. This action aligns with the Media State Treaty's requirement for providers to report their media platforms or user interfaces to the state media authority. Prior to notifying the state headquarters, discussions took place with BMW regarding the importance of radio content in cars.

Fix Radio now has a 295,109 weekly reach and 22.9 hours average weekly listening hours according to research by Nielsen. The latest data covers September 2022 and February 2023. Louis Timpany, founder and CEO of Fix Radio: “Since our national launch last May, our weekly reach and listening hours have grown rapidly. That’s a reflection of the work, effort and energy we’re putting in to grow this community." The station is now on the SDL multiplex covering the majority of the UK via DAB+.