News

Broadcasters took the crusade to save AM directly to Capitol Hill yesterday in the first of two days dedicated to lobbying Congress. The day opened with “Radio’s Road To The Future,” a presentation partnership between the NAB, Jacobs Media, and others, aimed to shed light on the importance of AM radio in the digital age. Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were also on hand to underscore the critical role of AM radio in the National Public Warning System. On that topic, a significant issue highlighted during the conference was the relationship between the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and AM. It was pointed out that AM radio’s continued presence in dashboards is essential for the efficiency and reliability of the EAS.

Initiated in 2021 by Arcom, the third "Fête de la radio" will be held on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 June 2023. For two days, listeners and professionals alike will be celebrating this medium, which is listened to by almost 40 million people in France every day. Special broadcasts, open days at national and local stations, concerts, conferences, entertainment and games - there are plenty of events planned for the occasion all over France, both in mainland France and overseas.

Now present in Angers since 13 June, Radio Orient is also announcing its arrival on DAB+ in the towns of Saumur and Cholet in July. The station is continuing to expand and is adding new areas of coverage, ensuring continuity of reception of its programmes in major conurbations as well as on major roads. This new launch in Angers brings the number of areas operated by Radio Orient to more than 48 on DAB+ and 11 on FM. This makes Radio Orient one of the largest networks currently operating using this technology.

The trial area of the Bad Kreuznach DAB+ multiplex is to be expanded. The assembly of the Rhineland-Palatinate media authority will deal with the application for expansion at its next meeting on 19 June. According to information from SatelliFax, the operator Milling Broadcast also wants to test a single frequency operation via digital terrestrial radio (Single Frequency Network = SFN) within the framework of the existing project. For this reason, a second transmitter is planned, which should better cover the area around the cities of Bingen and Ingelheim in particular. So far, the bouquet is broadcast via the Bad Kreuznach-Kuhberg transmitter with currently 10 programmes on channel 12A with a transmission power of 500 watts.

Klassik Radio wants to expand into Austria and Switzerland with its offshoot "Beats Radio" via digital radio DAB+ and the internet. This was announced by Managing Director Ulrich Kubak. Beats Radio plays a mix of house and lounge music, for the generation of 30-somethings and a youth culture that has come of age. He said Beats Radio is developing rapidly and was able to increase its digital reach by over 400 per cent in 2022. "We are very confident of making money with it very soon. The station alone has seven-figure EBITDA potential for our company," Kubak said.

Bryce Ruthven is the latest addition to the Disrupt Radio team. The former Married at First Sight Australia contestant has announced on social media that he will be part of the yet-to-be launched digital station: “Excited to share a career update. I’ve joined Disrupt Radio! A brand new DAB+ talk station that will be like nothing heard before on Australian radio. Since the start of May, our talented team have been busy preparing the station from the ground up, piloting shows and creating the sound of Disrupt Radio.” Ruthven joins Libbi Gorr, Jules Lund, Nazeem Hussain and Moana Hope at Disrupt Radio, which is due to launch in the coming months.

Xtra DAB Ltd has announced its plans to apply for the recently advertised small-scale multiplex for Harlow. Lending their support to the application are a number of local services including East Herts Radio and Radio Forest, plus local DAB station Radio Xtra. Xtra DAB Ltd says “Radio will soon be getting a whole lot bigger in Harlow and surrounding areas with more stations – more choice and more opportunities to broadcast, with a great community asset for Harlow and surrounding areas with space for community radio stations and other radio stations to offer a truly broad and diverse listener choice.”

Central Sussex Digital Radio Ltd has announced its intention to bid for the new DAB radio multiplex licence covering Haywards Heath & Uckfield. The licence is being advertised by Ofcom with any new services likely to be on-air from 2024. Central Sussex Digital Radio is made up of Total Sense Media, operator of More Radio and community station Ashdown Radio who broadcast on FM across East Sussex from their studios in Uckfield. V2 Radio who have been broadcasting across Sussex on DAB for the last two years are also part of the group, as is John Dash. The application is also being supported by other established community stations, including Mid Sussex Radio and Mid Downs Hospital Radio.

Three small-scale DAB multiplexes have been granted by Ofcom covering Bath & Midsomer Norton, Boston, Spalding & Skegness, and Derby. Only the Derby licence attracted more than one application, and these awards bring the total to 22. Just two more remain to be handed out in Round 4. Berwickshire & North Roxburgh, and East Fife, both with only one applicant each, are expected to be given out soon.

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE wants to offer its services "in all environments", including DAB+. This was more evident than ever at a conference that clearly aimed to get DAB+ on the Spanish political agenda. RTVE hosted the 'Trends of European audiovisual public services' conference last Thursday. It brought an analysis of how public audiovisual networks interact with traditional television and radio on the one hand and the internet, various platforms and social networks on the other. However, the focus was largely on radio, because there, unlike television, Spain completely missed the digital train.