News

Ofcom has awarded two 12-year licences for new local radio multiplexes for areas in Cumbria and Morecambe Bay. Bauer, which applied for a multiplex to cover North and West Cumbria, and MuxCo, which partnered with Nation Broadcasting to apply for a multiplex to cover Morecambe Bay and South Cumbria, will both start broadcasting in 2020.

Czech Radio has confirmed the budget for its DAB network extension plans in 2020. As part of the public broadcaster's expansion plans, DAB+ coverage is set to go from 80% to 95 % population.

Mandurah is set to become the ninth city in Australia to launch DAB+ digital radio, when the free to air broadcast technology is rolled out to western Australia’s second largest city on December 23. DAB+ was launched in Canberra, Darwin and Hobart earlier this year, and has been available in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth since 2009.

Viva Leisure, the Australian health and fitness club provider, has announced the launch of Club Lime Radio, a radio station available to listeners in Canberra on DAB+. The dedicated radio station has been setup in partnership with Canberra FM Radio, a joint venture between the Australian Radio Network and Southern Cross Austereo..

According to the latest infographic published by WorldDAB, more than 2.3 million DAB+ receivers have been sold in France, while household penetration in the country stands at 13%.

DAB+ has made significant progress in Germany in 2019 - with a growth of up to 34% in certain fields. There are now over 260 DAB+ stations, 65 of which are exclusively digital. In November, a federal law mandating digital radio in cars and certain types of receivers was also approved - it will be effective from the end of 2020. DAB+ receiver sales have also grown by 24% compared to 2018.

The second edition of Digital Radio Week took place on 4–8 November, hosting a number of events and special broadcasts. The now nationwide gathering is designed to promote and inform Belgians about the benefits of DAB+, and digital radio.

Love Sport, previously broadcasting on DAB in London, has started broadcasting nationally on Sound Digital using DAB+. The station has bought Panjab Radio’s slot after it ceased broadcasting across the UK last week.

Starting from 20 December 2019, new consumer receivers sold in France will be required to include DAB+ digital radio. The law will also be applied to in-car receivers starting from 20 June 2020.

WorldDAB’s latest market report reveals that by the end of Q2 2019, over 82 million consumer and automotive DAB/DAB+ receivers had been sold in Europe and Asia Pacific – up from 71 million one year earlier.