News

Gold’s 1548 kHz AM London frequency will be turned off at the end of this month by Global. The station, which started life as Capital Radio, has been on medium wave in London since it launched in October 1973 – almost 50 years ago. Global has been switching off its network of AM transmitters recently, with Peterborough/Cambridge (1332 kHz), Derby (945 kHz), Nottingham (999 kHz) and Northampton (1557 kHz) all going silent in June 2023. From September, Gold will only have one AM frequency remaining, in Manchester on 1458 kHz, but remains available nationally via DAB digital radio.

The Ministry of Press, Radio and Television will announce soon the winners of the advertised national and regional DAB+ licences. However, the MPRT cannot say exactly when this will happen. In the coming days, the authority will consult with the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority and the Swedish Competition Authority. The operators will then be allowed to comment on the conditions attached to the licences before the decision is finally announced. The new licences will be valid from 1 September this year to 31 July 2026.

Digital Broadcasting is testing a new DAB+ mux in Czechia on frequency block 5B from Benešov Kozmice and Buchov, which launched on 10 July. The mux operator says: "We operate two DAB+ transmitters. We analyse the correctness of our internal SFN tuning processes - we are continuously verifying our planning models in real propagation. Radio Čas and Radio Čas Rock are being distributed. We are now testing a new transmitting antenna system."

WorldDAB Vice President Jacqueline Bierhorst will speak at Radiodays Asia, taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 5-6 September 2023. Bierhorst has been a pioneer in commercial radio since 1987, specialised in distribution, marketing and content. Since 2015 she is project director Digital Radio NL, a collaboration between public and commercial broadcasters and the Ministry of Economic Affairs coordinating involvement of all stakeholders and joint marketing of Digital Radio in The Netherlands.

radioWOCHE understands changes are coming to the state-wide DAB+ platform in North Rhine-Westphalia. At the end of the month, ZOUND1 MAX will be replaced by Audiotainment Südwest's bigFM, from 01.09.2023. RADIO/TELE FFH GmbH & Co Betriebs-KG would like to broadcast the programme harmony.fm via the platform, replacing ZOUND1 MIX. The other broadcasters were informed about the changes in the allocation of the platform of audio.digital NRW GmbH.

Martinique La 1ère has received regulatory approval to join the DAB+ trial in Martinique. Arcom says: "As part of the authorisation granted to Imédias Group to experiment with DAB+ broadcasting of radio services from three sites in Martinique from 1 January to 30 September 2023, Arcom has decided not to oppose the modification of the service plan by adding the Martinique La 1ère radio service."

In another short interview with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2023, Lars-Peder Lundgren, Marketing Director, Paneda Group says they'll be demonstrating the Paneda Warning System over DAB.

The latest results of the Radioprojekt listenership survey for the first half of 2023 showed that listening on DAB+ receivers and DAB+ car radios has increased, with 17% of people using this technology. At the same time last year, 14% were using DAB+, and by 2021, 11% of listeners claimed to be using DAB+. DAB+ now has a comparable position to listening to radio on mobile phones (also 17%) or on computers (16%). Of those who can listen to DAB+, 40% listen daily and 28% listen several times a week. On average, DAB+ listeners listen to radio for ten minutes longer than owners of conventional receivers.

In the first of our series of short interviews with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2023, Hermann Zensen, Head of Sales and Marketing at DIGIDIA says they'll be showing the FlexiDAB multi multiplexer and multi-encoder.

Since 4 August 2023, France Bleu Normandie Seine-Maritime et Eure has had its distribution channels extended with the commissioning of two new DAB+ transmitters. The station can now be received on DAB+ digital radio by just over one million people. On 1 August, France Bleu Isère's DAB+ coverage was also extended to the Rhône and Ain regions with the commissioning of two new DAB+ transmitters.