News

Digital Radio NL's "Week of the Digital Radio" (6-10 July) is in full swing. Online, on television and of course on radio, DAB + is promoted as the new sound of radio, with promos focusing on DAB+ throughout the week, and DAB+ receivers to be won on most regional public radio stations.

French commercial radio station Crooner Radio has been assigned DAB+ frequencies to broadcast in several more major cities across France (Nancy, Metz, Troyes, Reims, Rouen, Caen, Le Mans, Angers). Other major players in the French radio landscape (NRJ, Europe 1, RTL, Radio France) will launch on national DAB+ in July 2021.

Terrestrial digital radio DAB + is still on the road to success: more than one in three people aged 14 and over has a DAB+ device in their home or car (34.2 percent), and one in five (20.5%) switches it on every week.

UK's Ofcom will extend licences for three national analogue commercial radio stations for a further 10 years. In its report the Government recognised the progress made by digital radio, with digital listening having grown in the 10 years since the Digital Radio Action Plan from just over 20% to now nearly 60%, and highlighted that ‘current trends suggest that analogue could account for 10% or less of listening by the end of the decade.'

The UK's Community Media Association is calling on the Treasury to increase funding as the sector is set to expand substantially with the introduction of small-scale DAB. The request includes the establishment of an equipment fund to subsidise the set-up of small-scale digital radio multiplexes. Small scale DAB will play a pivotal role in the next few years in reinvigorating local economies.

According to Javier Sánchez, part of the innovation team of Spain's public broadcaster RTVE, DAB+ is already established as the new dominant standard for radio in Europe, and it's now time for Spain to catch up with its European counterparts.

The initiative, promoted by the party Compromís, is in the Senate in the amendment period until September 17. The concrete measures are expected to be discussed later in the Committee on Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

The Azerbaijan Automobile Dealers Association (AADA) confirmed it will carry out a review of the current radio landscape in Azerbaijan, with particular focus on DAB+, and to include market research to understand more fully the perceptions and needs of both drivers and car dealers in relation to radio.

The proposal, which is aimed at driving the development of DAB+ digital radio, calls on the government to draw out a plan promoting the implementation of DAB+ in Spain. Presented before the senate, the proposal is set to be reviewed by the Committee on Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

The Spanish Senate is expected to discuss the potential launch of a working group that will focus on analysing the rollout and development of DAB+ in Spain. The initiative, brought forward by Valencia political party Compromís, is set to be discussed before the Senate on Monday 17 September.