News

While the radio industry in Europe continues its transition to digital, the Spanish government has yet to manifest any signs of commitment to the rollout of DAB+ in the country, prompting industry experts to raise their concern on the matter.

The new national multiplex operated by Czech Radio, which is set to be divided into two parts serving the west and eastern parts of the country, will help bring population coverage to 80% by the end of 2019.

Southern Cross Austereo has announced changes to its lineup, with the launch of new DAB+ stations. Triple M launched MMM Hard N Heavy on 1 October 2019 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, while Hit Oldskool and MMM Country also launched in Hobart on the same day.

The business opportunities associated with the growth of DAB+ in cars were brought to light during the first automotive workshop organised by SRG, the Swiss broadcasting association, on 26 September. SRG's next workshop on DAB+ in the car will be taking place in Lausanne on 3 October, as Switzerland prepares for the switch off of the FM.

DAB+ digital radio took centre stage during the Austria Media Day that took place on 25 September. WorldDAB president Patrick Hannon highlighted the significant development of DAB+ in Austria and the rest of Europe, touching on the reasons behind the success of DAB+ radio and stating that radio requires a multi-platform strategy with DAB+ at the heart of it.

Following the trend set by other networks, Nova Entertainment has streamlined its brand identity with the launch of two new DAB+ stations - Smooth Relax and Smooth Chill - so that new digital stations align with the successful Smooth brand. "Extending the smoothfm brand provides us with future opportunities to create different smooth genres", said Paul Jackson, Nova Entertainment Chief Programming and Marketing Officer.

According to research conducted by Arqiva's Simon Mason, FM is the most expensive distribution channel, standing at £0.00105 per hour, compared to £0.00047 for distribution via IP. DAB+ provides the most affordable means of distribution, standing at £0.00033 per hour.

Media Broadcast has announced its plans to expand Germany's national DAB+ network with the launch of four new transmitters in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria. One out of four households in Germany are now equipped with a DAB+ radio, and over 68 million people are expected to have access to DAB+ stations at home by the end of 2019.

DAB+ will be launching in the department of Seine-Maritime, in the French region of Normandy, on 1 October 2019. Listeners in the cities of Le Havre and Rouen will now be able to benefit from DAB+ digital radio broadcasts.

RTBF, the public broadcaster for the French-speaking community of Belgium, has announced the launch of two new DAB+ stations for French-speaking Belgium - Jam and Viva+. This brings the total number of RTBF DAB+ stations in the country to eight.