News

Broadcast radio continues to dominate as the most preferred source of in-car entertainment across the globe, according to a new international study released today by Edison Research and commissioned by WorldDAB, in partnership with Radioplayer and sponsored by National Association of Broadcasters, Commercial Radio Australia, and Xperi. Almost all (90%) of the survey respondents say a broadcast radio tuner should be standard equipment in every car, a trend that is consistent across age groups, indicating strong demand among current and future car buyers. The survey also reveals that the availability of radio has a major impact on consumers’ vehicle purchasing decisions: 82% of potential car buyers say they would be less likely to buy or lease a vehicle that is not equipped with a built-in radio tuner.

93% of Italians believe that the radio receiver is a fundamental element when deciding to buy a car. The radio , in fact, continues to be the preferred source of entertainment in the car all over the world and 87% of potential buyers of cars in Italy said that it would be less likely to buy or lease a vehicle not equipped with a radio receiver. “The latest study carried out by Edison Research testifies to the importance and contemporaneity of the radio medium. The increasingly widespread presence of DAB in the cars of all Italians as a fundamental and decisive element for motorists is a strong signal of the importance of this technology in which RTL 102.5 has always believed", declares the President of RTL 102.5 Lorenzo Suraci.

The Netherlands has gained a new national commercial radio station. RadioCorp – owner of 100%NL and SLAM! – has launched Sunlite Radio. RadioCorp proposes to bring a distinctive sound with Sunlite Radio. Sunlite brings a music mix that cannot be heard on national radio at the moment: relaxed soft & easy pop, love songs and ballads.

The recent car buyers survey also reveals that the availability of radio has a major impact on consumers’ vehicle purchasing decisions: 78% of prospective car buyers in the UK say they would be less likely to buy or lease a vehicle that is not equipped with a built-in radio tuner. Laurence Harrison, Director of Automotive Partnerships, Radioplayer told RadioToday: “We don’t think this type of consumer research is done by automotive companies and it provides invaluable insight for car manufacturers planning the radio experience in their future dashboard systems. Car buyers have spoken – they value radio, and in particular broadcast radio, above all other audio!”

On Thursday, November 4, Nostalgie+ celebrated its 2nd anniversary. To mark the occasion, France's first DAB+ radio station launched its new communication campaign which gives pride of place to its musical programming inspired by the best of music from the 70s, 60s and 50s. Without the dust. In the latest CIM Radio study, published on October 19, Nostalgie+ confirmed a market share of 1.3%. A remarkable result and currently the best score for a radio product broadcast only in digital and DAB+. Nostalgie+ is listened to every day by 56,055 listeners for an average of 123 minutes.

Helwin Lesch, Head of Distribution and Controlling Department in the Production and Technology Directorate of Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), was announced at the WorldDAB General Assembly held on 8 October, as this year's recipient of the WorldDAB Award for Outstanding Service. He has been a pivotal figure in promoting DAB+ not just in Bavaria, but also in Germany and more widely in Europe. He has been an active member of the WorldDAB Steering Board for several years, in addition to being a founding member of the European Digital Radio Alliance (EDRA). He has worked at Bavaria's public broadcaster, BR, since since 2002.

WorldDAB has published the latest DAB receiver sales volumes, coverage and equipment rate in households and cars in major markets in Europe and Asia- Pacific. In France, a cumulative total of 5,428,000 DAB+ receivers have been sold as of June 2021 this compares to the total of 3,420,000 as of June 2020. 2 million receivers were sold in one year.

On Oct. 25, commercial broadcaster Qmusic, part of DPG Media Group, launched a new DAB+ radio station that caters to R&B and hip-hop aficionados. Under the banner “Q-Downtown,” the station claims to be the first DAB+ station in the country to focus on this musical genre.

The Lower Saxony private broadcaster ffn wants to expand distribution of "Radio Bollerwagen", across more German states. Managing director Harald Gehrung has said the station will broadcast soon in Hamburg (presumably on the planned second, regional DAB+ mux) and "in a southern federal state" on DAB+ digital radio. Radio Bollerwagen launched last week on DAB+ in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Global DAB receiver sales have broken through the key 100 million milestone this year – reaching a cumulative figure of 110 million units, including both consumer and automotive receivers. The latest infographic released by industry body WorldDAB shows that despite the impact of the pandemic, sales continue to power ahead. In the last 12 months, for the first time, automotive DAB receivers exceeded 10 million units and consumer receiver sales registered over five million units.