News

Broadcasters around Thanet, Dover & Folkestone are coming together as Kent Coast DAB Limited to apply for a small-scale DAB licence. Academy FM Thanet, Kent Coast Community Broadcasters Ltd and Kent Capacity Co Ltd will but submitting an application for the Margate, Dover & Folkestone multiplex. Debbie Day, Station Manager of Academy FM Thanet, said: “We are really excited by the opportunity to develop our service on small-scale DAB and look forward to working with our partners. In the future, we along with others we will be able to offer more choice of services, support more charities and organisations and reach the wider community.”

Radio remains an essential part of the in-car experience, and is the most listened-to audio platform in the car, important new research released today has confirmed. The “Dashboard Dialogue” study 2023 is a major survey of recent and prospective car buyers conducted by Edison Research for WorldDAB – the global industry forum for DAB digital radio. It provides a more in-depth review of DAB radio’s usability in the car - with videos from consumers detailing their likes and dislikes, plus what they love about radio in the car today. The new research was conducted across France, Germany and the UK, through in-car interviews with radio listeners, and over 2,400 online interviews. Reinforcing the need for broadcast radio to remain prominent in the dashboard, the study found that 91% of recent and prospective car buyers said it was important that their recent or next vehicle has DAB/DAB+ or FM radio.

Australia’s newest radio station, Disrupt Radio, has announced it will officially launch onto the airwaves on Monday, June 26, 2023, delivering daily talk programming and content via DAB+ digital radio and online. Focusing on catering to all ages and stages, the station aims to provide a new angle on modern radio with candid conversations that cover business, entrepreneurship and innovation for the “dreamers and doers.” Musician, activist and entrepreneur Sir Bob Geldof will assist in the Melbourne-based station’s launch, hosting Breakfast alongside Libbi Gorr for Disrupt’s inaugural week on the airwaves.

Radioinfo caught up with Smooth FM Head of Programming, Peter Clay: "The Smooth FM brand expanded across Australia with new Smooth DAB+ stations in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth from September 2022. The results of SmoothFM DAB stations are proof that our decision to invest in live Breakfast shows for those stations is providing a local connection and content for listeners. SmoothFM is the most listened to DAB+ station in Adelaide and Perth, an outstanding result such a short time after launch, while Smooth Brisbane is one of the top performing stations in that market."

The Czech Telecommunications Office plans to continue to grant frequency allocations this year so that telecommunications operators can start operating proper commercial DAB+ multiplexes. "There will be eight layers of frequencies - two commercial nationwide and 27 regional networks," said Jiří Duchač, director of the Czech Telecommunications Office's Frequency Spectrum Management Department. Duchač also reiterated that the CTU's goal is to launch the tender as soon as possible so that DAB still has a chance to succeed with listeners. "It will be an opportunity for both old and new operators. The conditions cannot favour any of the participants," he pointed out.

"For its part, the regulator is committed to working alongside radio operators to help them make the most of these changes and the opportunities offered by their new digital environment. In this respect, the roll-out of digital radio, DAB+, is opening up new prospects, both in terms of listening comfort and experience for the listener and in terms of the dynamism of the landscape, by allowing the arrival of new players and original formats, and therefore new listeners, since radio is a supply medium. In addition to these well-known advantages, there are at least two others that are just as important: a favourable environmental impact, as this technology is more energy-efficient than the FM band or the Internet, and the absence of any risk of disintermediation for the players."

Digital terrestrial radio (DAB+) continues to roll out across France. After Montpellier and Reims, listeners in Besançon will be able to tune in to digital terrestrial radio and discover Ado, "the legendary hip-hop and R&B radio station", as well as Oüi FM, "the only French rock radio station".

The "Ensemble pour le DAB+" (Together for DAB+) association announced the forthcoming launch of its first communication campaign aimed at the general public. The launch marks the official launch of the association, which was set up to promote the development of DAB+ at both national and local level. The association's actions are in line with the guidelines set by Arcom in 2018 for the rollout of DAB+ in France, presenting DAB+ as complementary to FM, based in particular on the "arcs and nodes" strategy, and the launch of a national offering alongside a local and regional offering. The association has chosen the Bronx communications agency to design its first communications campaign, which will be launched in September.

Attendees at this week’s WorldDAB Automotive gathering in Paris got a firsthand look at a study conducted by market researcher Edison Research for WorldDAB. Dashboard Dialogue 2023, which looks into radio listening, confirms that radio is the dominant source for audio in the car and that drivers/passengers rely on it and expect it to be there. A summary said, “Reinforcing the need for broadcast radio to remain prominent in the dashboard, the study found that 91% of recent and prospective car buyers said it was important that their recent or next vehicle has DAB/DAB+ or FM radio.” In addition: “82% of prospective car buyers, and 79% of recent car buyers would have been ‘much less’ or ‘somewhat less’ likely to have purchased their recent vehicle if it did not have a radio. Meanwhile 86% of recent/prospective car buyers ‘would really miss having radio in a vehicle if it were no longer available.’”

After years of growth, DAB+ digital radio penetration in European Union (EU) automobiles has reached a stage of “maturity.” That was the message driven home by WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon during his opening presentation at the WorldDAB Automotive 2023 conference. The conference was held in Paris, France, on June 15, with its sessions also being viewable on the web. WorldDAB is the international association promoting the adoption of this digital radio transmission standard around the globe. “DAB+ is now a standard feature in European cars in 2022,” Hannon told conference attendees. “Last year, 96 percent of new cars sold within the European Union came with DAB+ 96 percent. Another way of putting that is that there were 10 million new vehicles on the road with DAB+. And in 2023 this year we’re likely to be closer to 12 million.”