News

Spark Radio will be broadcast around Southport and the surrounding area on DAB+, reaching an audience of up to 330,000 listeners. This is a fantastic milestone as our learner-run station brings its shows, podcasts and music to a wider community. This will not only provide a valuable platform for our talented students to showcase their skills but also enriches the local radio landscape with fresh, creative content from the next generation of broadcasters.

Ofcom has published an outline of frequency block usage for small-scale DAB across the United Kingdom. The UK media regulator says: "The maps show which frequency blocks have been allocated to each small-scale DAB area that Ofcom anticipated advertising when considering the licensing of small-scale DAB. The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the frequencies used, or planned for future use, by small-scale DAB across the UK. With over 60 multiplexes on-air, about 40 more licensed and yet to come on-air, and 25 areas being assessed, the overall frequency plan is not expected to change significantly. However, all frequency plans evolve over time and the allocations depicted on the maps may change to some extent."

Two digital network operators for commercial radio, Teleko digital and RTI cz, are expanding DAB+ signal coverage in Moravia. Teleko has started broadcasting from the Velká Javorina transmitter in Slovakia, while RTI cz has launched its first Moravian site on Lysá hora in the Beskydy Mountains. On Thursday, RTI cz began testing transmissions from Lysá hora, where its full-range multiplex C signal is being distributed from its own transmitter by Teleko digital. The tests are running on channel 9D and the network should ultimately transmit at 3 kW. From Lysá hora, RTI cz will cover the entire Ostrava-Karviná region. This operator broadcasts from Lysá hora with an output of 2 kW. From Thursday to Friday, Teleko digital also launched the Velká Javorina transmitter, located on the Slovak side of the Czech-Slovak border near Uherský Brod.

As Italy moves forward with allocating local and regional DAB+ frequencies, broadcasters are concerned the numbers don’t add up. The provisional national DAB allocation plan , PNAF-DAB, issued by the Italian communications regulator AGCOM outlined three national, 54 regional (27 of which could be divided into subregions), and 36 local networks. In 11 of the catchment areas, applications did not exceed the number of available network licenses. The remaining 10 regions, the number of groups looking to operate at least one of the area’s networks exceeds the planned capacity. Under the current plan, so-called “beauty contests” will be used to determine which applicant will receive a DAB+ licence.

Q3 2024 RAJAR figures are out for the UK. Listening to radio online actually fell for the quarter (27.7% of all radio listening, compared to 28.1% last time around). Listening to radio via DAB continued to increase, and is now at 44% of all radio listening, another record. FM/AM now accounts for 25.7% - down from 29.7% one year ago. Over at Bauer, notable that the Absolute Radio brand has posted its best-ever figures, in spite of now being a digital-only network, losing both 1215AM (Jan 2023) and 105.8FM (May 2021).

Under the motto ‘Dinkelsbühl listens digitally’, the Middle Franconian private radio station Radio 8 is switching off its first FM frequency and leaving 89.8 MHz this Thursday, 31 October. Reception via the Radio 8 app, the website www.radio8.de and digital radio DAB+ is preferred. Depending on the location, the FM frequencies 97.3 MHz from Feuchtwangen and 89.1 MHz from Wassertrüdingen can be heard in the town. An information event on the switchover was held on Altrathausplatz on Saturday. DAB+ radios from TechniSat were up for grabs.

The RTS Première, RTS Espace 2, RTS Couleur 3 and RTS Option Musique channels will be leaving the FM band on 31 December. Cars not equipped with DAB+ receivers will need to be adapted to continue receiving RTS and traffic information, as well as to listen to any radio in tunnels. The four RTS radio channels will soon only be available via DAB+ and internet streaming. Like all their SRG colleagues, they will no longer be available on FM receivers from 1 January 2025, an obsolete technology that Switzerland has decided to abandon. Anyone who does not have a DAB+ receiver and wishes to continue listening to RTS Première, RTS Espace 2, RTS Couleur 3 and RTS Option Musique on an FM radio will only be able to do so by using an adapter.

Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA) has invited applications for the grant of Authorisations to establish, maintain and operate a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) Multiplex Service in the Republic of Ghana. The Selection and Award Procedure Document can be accessed on the Authority’s website. The Authority intends to issue one authorisation for a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) multiplex service. The objectives for the award of the DAB Multiplex Operator Authorisation are: transition the DAB+ trial to a commercial service; and create a structured DAB environment that facilitates the growth of digital sound broadcasting services and a vibrant receiver market. The announcement of winners is expected on 5th December 2024.

Last month, Global launched 12 radio stations in one day — an “ambitious goal”, according to chief commercial officer Mike Gordon: “But we like ambitious goals.” The stations comprise sub-brands for Heart (Musicals, Love and ’10s), Smooth (’80s, ’70s and Soul), Radio X (’00s, ’90s and Chilled), Classic FM (Movies and Calm) and Capital (Anthems). But why 12 and why launch them all on the same day? “It could have been more, honestly," says Gordon. But we felt that was the right time and it’s a balance of what’s the investment, what’s the technical involvement, where’s the programming gap, where’s the window, where’s the market and where is it additive?”

Three years after In Demand Radio launched on DAB across Liverpool and the Northwest, it’s time to launch a second station for the area. In Demand Decades will play songs from across the decades. Steve Laycock, In Demand Radio Managing Director said: “In Demand Radio has proved that local and live radio works, the audience wants radio to serve them in their area. Our stations will always be local, our studios will always be here.” The station will launch on DAB on 4th November.