News

NDR radio stations in the north-east of the island of Rügen can be received even better via digital radio DAB+ from 17 January. With the commissioning of another transmitter near Sagard, DAB+ coverage of NDR stations has improved for radio listeners on the Jasmund and Wittow peninsulas. For the most part, they can now also be received there indoors via digital radio, on Block 8B (197.648 MHz). The Baltic resort of Binz and other towns along the Prorer Wiek also benefit from the NDR's new DAB+ transmitter.

The local DAB+ pilot projects will be extended for a period of three years. This was decided by the Flemish Media Regulator, the independent regulator of the Flemish audiovisual media. In addition, under certain conditions, a limited number of relay stations will also be allowed. Flemish Media Minister Benjamin Dalle met with local radio stations to give them the news. The first year of local DAB+ broadcasting provided useful insights into how DAB+ broadcasting is realised in a semi-provincial transmission area, what coverage is achieved for it and how cooperation takes place within the pilot projects.

The existing licences for DAB+ digital radio transmitters operated by Towercom expired at the end of 2022. "The operator of digital terrestrial radio broadcasting has applied to the Office for the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services (RÚ) for an extension of the validity period of 10 individual licences for the use of frequencies," Adriana Volfová, head of the press and information department at the RÚ, told SatelitnáTV.sk. "In November 2022, the Office decided to extend the validity period of these individual authorisations." All new licences are valid until the end of 2023.

On Wednesday 25 January, at 10 a.m., the Senate Committee on Culture, Education and Communication is organising a meeting of the Committee in the Salle Médicis of the Senate. This round table will focus on "the future of radio in the DAB+ era". This round table will bring together Roch-Olivier Maistre (president of Arcom), Constance Benqué (president of the Bureau de la radio), Sibyle Veil (president and CEO of Radio France), Christophe Schalk (president of the Syndicat des radios indépendantes) and Emmanuel Boutterin (president of the Syndicat national des radios libres).

As reported, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is planning a second DAB+ digital radio multiplex. In response to a SatellliFax enquiry, the ARD broadcaster confirmed the plan and has now announced further details: "The second DAB+ multiplex will cover part of NRW as a conurbation multiplex and supplement the existing first (state-wide) multiplex," it says. "In this way, the regionalisation of WDR 4 can be reflected and the audio quality of the content offered can be increased at the same time". According to WDR, the transmission of private stations is not planned on the second mux.

Štajerské val welcomed the launch of digital broadcasting via DAB+. You can find us on the R2 East DAB+ network, which means we can be heard across the whole of eastern Slovenia, without interruption. "We at Štajerski val are very excited about the transition to digital broadcasting via DAB+, which we have been working towards for a long time," said Greta Kokot Rajković, Programme Director. Last year we were successful in the tender and now you can listen to us on digital DAB+! For us, this means a great gain, an extended coverage area and, above all, coverage of grey spots where we could not be heard at the moment due to the geographical limitations of FM transmitters. At the same time, the launch of the new digital DAB+ format is the first and most beautiful gift to our radio for its upcoming 70th birthday."

The next ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium event will be organised as an in-person event from the 6-9 March 2023 at Kuala Lumpur. It attracts close to 1,500 participants annually, representing over 350 organisations across the region and beyond. An ever-expanding range of technologies is now on the market, providing broadcasters with important new opportunities. DBS showcases these to help broadcasters make the right decisions. The DBS2023 event, through its conference sessions, panel discussions, focused workshops and masterclasses, presented by eminent experts across the globe, will address challenges, find solutions and share experiences related to digital transition, technology implementation, creative content ideas, and enhancing user experiences.

Radio Holiday is now also broadcasting in Berlin. The private radio station all about holidays and leisure was switched on via DAB+ on the local multiplex (channel 7B). After North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Thuringia, this is the fourth broadcast area in digital radio. The station also has a licence in Hesse, but is not yet active there via DAB+.

The BBC is “not proactively putting a date on a digital switchover or anything stupid like that,” Director General Tim Davie has said, but rather sparking a “broader conversation across the UK for when we do move across.” Davie said that he was “being provocative” in the recent landmark speech when he discussed an internet-only future. “We should have an aggressive plan but that is not a plan to remove things used by lots of people too soon,” he added, speaking to the UK government’s Public Accounts Committee. “The BBC has a fantastic record of not leaving people behind, whether it’s in terms of Freeview or DAB—that is not the proposal.”

Levira's DAB+ digital radio transmitter started operating on 11 January at the Pehka transmitter station, as a result of which the coverage area of digital radio now extends not only to Tallinn and Central Estonia, but also to Lääne-Viru county. Thanks to the transmitter in Haljala municipality, digital radio can now be listened to in almost all of Lääne-Viru County. On the Tallinn-Narva highway, digital radio reaches as far as Aseri and beyond under favourable conditions. Currently, 11 radio stations can be listened to on DAB+: Raadio Elmar, Raadio Kuku, Raadio MyHits, Raadio Duo, Narodnoe Radio and DFM, as well as Star FM Eesti, Klassikaraadio, Äripäev Raadio, Power Hit Radio and Tre Raadio.