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Austrian Federal President van der Bellen pressed the start button of Radio ROT WEISS ROT on 21 June at 12:00 noon, thus launching the most Austrian DAB+ station on the radio market. ROT WEISS ROT is soon to become the regulars' table of the local radio scene. True to the motto "Da bin I her, da hear (hör) I hin", the station is a tribute to the country's artists. "I am delighted to be able to officially launch the new digital radio station Radio ROT WEISS ROT," says a delighted Alexander van der Bellen. Attending the start of the broadcast was a great pleasure for our Federal President and a huge honour for everyone involved. Together with this year's ESC candidate Kaleen and singer Josh, he launched the red, white and red radio station and presented the first song - which was, how could it be otherwise, Reinhard Fendrich's "I am from Austria".

FM licences for commercial radio will no longer be sold to the highest bidder. Instead, a new fee equivalent to 3 per cent of advertising revenue will be introduced. This is proposed in a memo from the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture also proposes that analogue FM licences should in future be allocated according to the same principles as digital DAB+ licences. This means that the Media Authority will take into account "diversity in terms of both content and ownership", as well as previous experience of radio operations in the relevant broadcasting area or radio market. The current licences for commercial radio on FM and DAB+ are valid until the end of 2026. The Ministry of Culture's proposal has now been sent out for consultation, which runs until 11 October.

European Music Day is a very special year for Radio Clásica, as it starts broadcasting on DAB+ in ten Spanish cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Murcia, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, Pamplona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Málaga. This represents more than 30% population coverage. DAB+ makes it possible to start listening to Radio Clásica's programming with very high audio quality, which is of paramount importance due to the type of musical works that are broadcast. Once deployed nationwide, DAB+ will enable Radio Televisión Española to provide public service radio broadcasting under the terms currently mandated by law. It will provide maximum geographical and social coverage with better quality, free-to-air broadcasts, complementary information and free reception.

Austria's most successful furniture retailer launches its own radio station from 21 June 2024. XXXLutz - The radio will be available on DAB+ throughout Austria. The new XXXLutz radio station will be available on all digital playout channels (DAB radios, smartphones, tablets, etc.) at home and on the move. There will also be a dedicated app as well as various social media appearances and a website. "XXXLutz - Das Radio will be a feel-good format focussing on joie de vivre, entertainment, trends and lots of cool sounds. We are thus taking another innovative step and want to give Austrians a great attitude to life, especially within their own four walls," says XXXLutz company spokesperson Thomas Saliger.

Six billion euros in group turnover, 27,000 employees, locations in 13 EU countries: The XXXLutz Group is the furniture retailer with the highest turnover in Austria and is the fifth largest furniture retailer worldwide (Statista 2024). Now the company is taking a completely new approach: from June, the company's own DAB+ radio programme will go on air. "XXXLutz's DAB+ radio programme has nothing to do with a store radio station," said Thomas Saliger, Group spokesman for the furniture giant. "When the new licences were put out to tender, it was clear from the outset that if we were going to operate a radio station, we really wanted to take it seriously. We don't want to broadcast Lutz trailers 24 hours a day and celebrate the Putz family, but if we do, then we want to focus intensively on a product that customers should listen to and love."

Among the 28 radios that will be launched in Austria via DAB+ on 21 June is a well-known name from the Austrian media landscape. Oberösterreichische Nachrichten is expanding its portfolio to include the radio station "OÖNow". For Managing Director Gino Cuturi, this is a logical step: "We started a long time ago to focus on the topic of online in addition to print. This also includes moving images and therefore sound, and we are continuing this with the new station." In addition to content formats, they also want to offer a wide range of music, whereby they want to be more in-depth than others. The target group is primarily Upper Austrians, even if the radio can be received nationwide. In terms of content, the aim is to continue topics that are also discussed in the daily newspaper.

ORS is responsible for the Austria-wide expansion and distribution of digital radio programmes. To this end, ORS operates a nationwide DAB+ multiplex, via which a total of 58 digital radio stations will be broadcast from today, 21 June 2024. With the DAB+ network, ORS reaches around 83% of the Austrian population both nationally and regionally. medianet asked ORS Managing Director Michael Wagenhofer for an interview. "DAB+ is broadcast by the ORS group across Austria from a total of 15 locations," said Wagenhofer. "With the new location at Hauser Kaibling, we are now broadcasting 30 radio programmes nationwide with a population reach of 84 percent. And for the new radio programmes, which are broadcast regionally, the ORS group has established five new coverage areas in recent months. The total number of DAB+ stations we serve will rise to 58 by the end of June."

ANTENNE VORARLBERG, the leading radio station among 14-49-year-old listeners in Vorarlberg, has expanded its digital portfolio by integrating new stations via the digital radio standard DAB+. From 21 June, the channels ANTENNE VORARLBERG Partymix and the newly launched 80s90s MEGAMIX will be available in addition to the main station. Mario Mally, Managing Director of ANTENNE VORARLBERG, emphasises: "Our new DAB+ stations are a direct response to the wishes of our listeners and offer advertisers innovative platforms to reach their target groups effectively. These additional offerings improve our music and information portfolio with great sound quality and confirm our position as a future-orientated station.

7 o'clock sharp in the morning. The very first sounds of ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", a party atmosphere is created in the brand new broadcasting studio. A disco ball spins on the ceiling - and will do so in future with every ABBA song that comes out of the speakers in the NOSTALGIE studio. The entire team, which has invested a lot of heart and soul and radio expertise in recent months, has come together to celebrate the start of a new era: NOSTALGIE is going on air in Austria, bringing a breath of fresh air to the radio landscape. "NOSTALGIE is modern, international and innovative - a radio programme that sets new standards in Austria. Our unique & innovative programme design, as well as the many great programme ideas, will provide our future listeners with many entertaining hours every day," says Flo Berger, Channel Manager of NOSTALGIE in Austria.

Austria's radio market offers enormous diversity. From tomorrow (21 June), a further 28 private radio stations will be added via DAB+. This will give listeners even more choice than before. There is something for every taste: from pop to classical, from rock to lounge, from pop to dance. Corinna Drumm, Managing Director of the Association of Austrian Private Broadcasters, is celebrating the biggest launch of private radio stations since 1998: "A quarter of a century ago, private radio stations brought diversity and more colour to Austria's radio market and have been continuously expanding their range ever since. Now comes the next really big step: with the 28 new stations, the offering for listeners is being greatly expanded once again. That's great!"