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Building on its image and its lead, Crooner Radio is now attracting its first audiences, which are being snapped up by advertisers and partners such as Aston Martin and Live Nation. It is also developing its podcast production activity, digital radio and the implementation of a "new economy for the radio medium". On Tuesday 6 February, the Crooner Radio team, led by Jean-Baptiste Tuzet, was at the Paris Radio Show at La Bellevilloise "to present its reinvention of radio advertising". Crooner Radio, which now has DAB+ coverage in France's biggest cities, is delighted with this positive impetus from major players in favour of digital radio.

The German-speaking Community is now almost completely covered by DAB+. At the weekend, the Belgian Broadcasting Corporation (BRF) switched on the second major site in Wallerode (municipality of Amel). This means that digital radio can now be received in large parts of the Eifel region. In the north of East Belgium and parts of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, listeners have been able to receive BRF's digital transmitter network since last year. The "DAB+ in East Belgium" pilot project is the result of an initiative by the BRF, which is making the necessary investments for the pilot phase. A corresponding decree from the government of the German-speaking Community allows the BRF to use the DAB+ frequency with the inclusion of private radio stations from East Belgium.

Bayerischer Rundfunk will be broadcasting its DAB+ service from two new locations from 5 February: the transmitter network will grow to 87 DAB+ locations and reception of the digital radio service will continue to improve. In the Upper Palatinate, near the Czech border, the Geigant transmitter will cover the municipalities of Waldmünchen, Schönthal and Rötz in future. In the district of Forchheim in Upper Franconia, the new DAB+ site in Ebermannstadt will go into operation for the municipalities of Ebermannstadt, Forchheim, Kirchehrenbach, Leutenbach, Pretzfeld and Weilersbach.

Since 1 February Radio Gdańsk has also been broadcasting a Slupsk city programme on the second DAB+ channel. On DAB Regions you can listen to Radio Gdańsk's local programmes from Slupsk and Station Kaszuby. "DAB+ gives listeners a much wider choice of programming. The digital channel accommodates many more programmes, while the analogue FM or AM band gives the possibility to receive only a few/more stations," explains Andrzej Dubas, chief engineer of Radio Gdańsk.

New UK audience figures show DAB's share of in-car listening hitting a record high of 55.4%, up over five percentage points from 49.7% in the same period last year. The platform's share of all listening also rose to 42.7% from 38.8%. In total 76% of the population - 43 million adults aged 15+ are now tuning in to radio via a digitally-enabled platform (DAB, DTV, Online/App, or Smart speaker) each week. In an average week, digital listening accounts for 729 million hours; DAB has a 59% share of those digital listening hours, with DTV 5%, Website/Apps 15%, Smart Speaker 20%. The new figures cover the period to 17 December 2023.

The year begins with a change at the top of Bayern Digital Radio GmbH. After almost 20 years as Managing Director of BDR, Johannes Trottberger will retire at the end of January 2024. From 1 February, Frank Strässle will take over until further notice. As project manager for the DAB pilot project in Saxony-Anhalt from 1997 - 99, Johannes Trottberger was one of the pioneers of digital audio broadcasting. He took over the management of BDR in June 2004 and was largely responsible for the successful establishment of BDR as a transmitter network operator for DAB+ in Bavaria.

A WIRRAL Christian and community radio station aims to reach a new audience after launching on a new digital service. Flame CCR, which was established in 2000, already entertains listeners from around the world through its online service and its recently launched app. After acquiring a digital licence to broadcast on the new Liverpool DAB+ in December, programme makers are excited that they can now reach many more people in the region. Station manager, Norman Polden, is very excited about its future. He said: “Now Flame CCR is a lot busier, broadcasting 24/7 from our own studios in via internet www.flameradio.org and the Flame Radio App to the world, and now also on DAB+ to Merseyside, via a transmitter on the St John’s Beacon in Liverpool city centre."

From 1 February, you can tune in to Classic FM in the Channel Islands on DAB+. Classic FM says: "We are delighted to announce that Classic FM is now available to listeners in digital quality, in the Channel Islands. Local DAB digital radio comes via DAB digital transmitters, which first went live from Les Platons in Jersey and Les Touillets in Guernsey in 2021, bringing a much bigger range of radio listening. Classic FM is now available on DAB+ for listeners in Jersey, Guernsey, Herm, Sark and Alderney."

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) has put another transmitter for DAB+ digital radio into operation. The state-wide multiplex (channel 11D) and the Upper Franconia mux (channel 10B) are broadcast from the Ebermannstadt/Pretzfeld site, each with a transmission power of 5 kW. As reported, BR had previously connected the Geigant transmitter (Waldmünchen-Sinzendorf) to the network. The Upper Palatinate mux is broadcast here on channel 6C and the Bavaria-wide ensemble on channel 11D with a power of 6.3 kW each.

Preparations are in full swing towards one of the ABU’s star events, the ‘Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2024’. The event takes place at Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur, March 4 – 7, 2024. Themed ‘NAVIGATING AI HORIZON’, the DBS2024 event is planned as yet another exciting and lively chapter in this series. The symposium, comprising of conference sessions, panel discussions, focused workshops, and masterclasses, will be led by eminent experts from across the globe. The sessions will address challenges, find solutions and share experiences related to digital transition, technology implementation, creative content ideas, and enhancing user experiences.