News

93 percent of new cars sold last year in the Czech Republic already included a DAB + digital radio tuner. In September 2020, Czech Radio launched 10 new DAB+ transmitters, increasing population coverage from 85% to 95%.

Published this week, the latest survey on listener awareness of DAB+ shows that by end 2021, 78% of Belgian listeners had already heard of DAB+. Sales of DAB+ home receivers grew by 13% in 2021, offsetting sales of analog FM receivers, which fell by 7%. 98% of new cars sold in Belgium now have DAB+ as standard. DAB+ has grown steadily since 2018, with 22% of French-speaking Belgians tuning in.

DAB+ radio came as standard in 95% of new cars sold in key European markets in 2021, according to figures released today by WorldDAB - reflecting the implementation into national legislation of the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC). Several new EU countries surveyed for the first time are already on a par with more established DAB+ markets - Austria 94%, Czech Republic 93%, Poland 92% and Spain 91% of new cars sold in 2021 with DAB+ as standard.

Network operator DABCOM has launched another digital radio multiplex. This time in Katowice. Earlier multiplex launches have taken place in Tarnów, Częstochowa, Warsaw and Poznań. Network operator PSN Infrastruktura has launched local multiplexes in Rzeszów and Toruń. The Katowice multiplex will consist of nine radio stations.

DAB+ and the internet account for three quarters of total radio usage. FM is still losing ground, while the use of the two digital broadcast modes is increasing. DAB+ and internet broadcasting now each account for a third of total radio use. The Swiss radio industry has agreed to switch from FM to digital DAB+ broadcasting by the end of 2024. Virtually all new vehicles are equipped with a DAB+ set as standard. OFCOM will publish new figures in the first quarter of 2022.

The demand for digital radio is increasing. Last year, almost 40 percent of all radios sold were equipped with DAB+. The number of radio receivers without DAB+, on the other hand, fell by 16 percent, pure analogue receivers only accounted for a third of the radio market (35 percent). Almost half of the sales in the radio segment of consumer electronics are now generated via DAB+ devices (47 percent). A total of around 13 million DAB+ devices have been sold in Germany since 2010.

Deutschlandradio continues its commitment to terrestrial digital broadcasting in 2022 and the network expansion of the DAB+ transmitters will start soon. After the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court on the broadcasting fee, the construction was commissioned again last summer, meaning six more locations can go into operation in 2022. As a result of the expansion, the transmitter network of the first national program platform has grown to a total of 155 locations. Distribution via DAB+ is around a third more economical than via FM due to the significantly lower power consumption per radio program.

Market share of digital radio in Flanders, currently at 41 percent, will not exceed 50 percent until the end of 2024. At the end of 2027, when existing FM licenses will expire, digital share will probably fluctuate around 60 percent, compared to still 40 percent for FM. It is crucial that by 2025, when negotiations will take place, the share of digital radio exceeds 50 percent. This evolution is of course highly dependent on how actively Flanders further promotes DAB+.

Pure has launched an innovative suite of new products for the iconic Evoke range that are built on Frontier’s leading Venice X platform, offering the benefits of SmartRadio to their customers. Every model of the new reimagined line is a SmartRadio device and therefore combines the reliability of FM and DAB+ with the choice and flexibility of streaming Internet Radio, Podcasts and Spotify Connect.

The association Digitalradio Österreich has a new managing director. Thomas Pöcheim, founding chairman of the platform in the past, took over the agenda of the operational management at the beginning of February. Together with the Management Board, he wants to continue on the path of increasing programme variety and market acceptance of DAB+ and the growing number of listeners.