News

At SwissRadioDay, Jessica Allemann Brancher, Digital Migration working group presented a very interesting study on the use of digital radio in Switzerland. First observation: Switzerland listens to digital radio with three minutes of radio out of four which are now consumed in digital mode. Among the other results of this study, we note that 41 minutes of radio out of 100 are now listened to in DAB+, a third in IP and a quarter in FM.

A new radio station will start soon on DAB+: Vibe Radio. The format of the new radio station is "Dutch Urban" "Do you like Antoon, Flemming, Snelle, Tabitha, Metejoor or the Youth of Today? Join the vibe! Vibe Radio focuses mainly on 'Dutch Urban', on the target group 10-35 years old and young parents. Our own research shows that there is a huge need for this genre. What emerges is that this young target group wants to hear well-known hits from their favorite artists of today, for which their parents do not turn off the radio," says the station. The radio station comes from the same owner as the radio stations RADIONL, Tukker FM, Joy Radio and Freez FM.

The private radio station Star*Sat Radio can now also expand into markets outside of Berlin and Brandenburg. The Commission for Licensing and Supervision of the State Media Authorities (ZAK) issued a nationwide broadcasting licence on August 5th. There are already concrete plans for expansion: "We expect Star*Sat Radio to be launched in Hamburg at the beginning of October," said a spokesman for the organiser when asked by SatelliFax. Distribution is to take place on the DAB+ multiplex on channel 10D.

The National Broadcasting Council announced its intention to switch off the FM band in favour of DAB+. It was indicated that it would take place between 2026 and 2030. Joanna Lichocka, a member of the National Media Council and a PiS MP, who was hosted on Channel 3 of Polish Radio, commented on this announcement. "I believe that this is a good idea and the expectations of the National Broadcasting Council to finally undertake the digitisation of the Polish radio market are absolutely justified," she assessed. "This has been happening for years, for a long time in Western Europe, and there is no reason why we should stop the development of the radio market only on analogue broadcasting via FM, possibly on the Internet," she added. "Cheaper and ecological" As Lichocka pointed out, "DAB is the future" as a digital, cheaper and ecological form of broadcasting. " Giving a lot more space to the various radio stations in this digital network, " she pointed out.

The switch to the digital radio standard DAB+ raises technical questions. SRG will be offering workshops on this in the coming year and will answer individual questions from participants. The workshops often deal with the following topics: How do I switch from FM to DAB+? How do I switch my FM stereo to DAB+? How can I convert my car radio to DAB+? Adriano Pitteri and Dominique Gall from SRG lead the workshops and answer questions.

In spring 2022, radio listeners used digital platforms for an average of 75 out of 100 minutes of radio every day. This was announced by the Digital Migration working group (WG DigiMig) at SwissRadioDay on 25 August 2022. DAB+ at 41% has clearly become the most popular digital radio technology. Radio listening in cars accounts for 12% of overall use. The highest proportion of radio use in cars is also via DAB+ (51%). Around 250,000 DAB+ radios were sold in Switzerland in the first half of 2022. An additional 125,000 DAB+ devices were fitted in vehicles. This pushes the total number of DAB+ radios in Switzerland up to around 6.25 million. In addition, a DAB+ radio was fitted as standard in 99.9% of all new cars.

"Since Monday morning, your radio station, Radio J, has been available on DAB+ 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A new high-quality standard now complements FM and Internet broadcasts. Since August 22, Radio-J has been broadcasting its programmes in Île-de-France on DAB+, 24/24 and 7/7, the new digital terrestrial radio broadcasting standard whose deployment in France and around the world is experiencing a strong acceleration. DAB+ technology allows better coverage without interference or crackling, and increased digital sound quality." Radio J is a Jewish community radio station in Paris.

10 years after launching smoothfm Sydney and Melbourne, Nova Entertainment has announced that it is taking the brand national with live and local content in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth – supported by a multi-million dollar marketing campaign. The new stations and advertising campaign will start on 5 September 2022. Mediaweek spoke with Nova Entertainment’s chief growth officer, Adam Johnson, about why now was the right time to expand the smoothfm brand. “There is this feeling that unless you’ve got an AM or FM licence you can’t exist in people’s lives. That has been debunked,” said Johnson. “When you look at the growth of listening via DAB+ and digital, the product has clearly got appeal."

KRRiT announces a consultation on the draft position of the National Broadcasting Council on ceasing broadcasting radio stations in analogue technology in the FM band and setting a date for switching off analogue broadcasting of radio stations. "The National Broadcasting Council believes that the exclusion of analogue FM broadcasting should take place no earlier than December 31, 2026 and no later than December 31, 2030."

Divicon Media Holding GmbH, nationwide service provider and operator of numerous radio networks in the private and public sector, will be the platform operator of all DAB+ regional and local muxes in Saxony. The choice of platform operator was made for the first time on the basis of the amended Telecommunications Act (TKG) by the organisers themselves; a call for tenders is no longer required under the new version with unanimity. This clears the way for a comprehensive DAB+ station offering from many established radio brands around the Saxony locations of Chemnitz, Dresden, Freiberg and Leipzig.