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The 20% DAB+ population coverage threshold announced in France at the end of 2018 ensured DAB+ featured at the top of the agenda at the 2019 European Radio Show in Paris.

The European Code of Electronic Communications entered into force on 20 December 2018, meaning EU Member States have two years have to incorporate the code into their national legislation. Italy is the first country to have applied the European directive in advance - as of 1 June 2019, wholesalers, retailers and automotive brands will be required to sell receivers with at least one digital interface to receive digital broadcasts, while all domestic and automotive receivers sold after 1 January 2020 will be required to include digital audio capabilities.

UNESCO is paying tribute to radio on Wednesday 13 February, with the 8th edition of World Radio Day. UNESCO is organising an event, open to the public, at its headquarters in Paris and will air on DAB+ and online from a temporary radio station.

DAB+ continues to develop across France and is set to launch in the north-western city of Rouen and surrounding areas in September 2019. A total of 18 radio stations expected to go on air in the region.

Commercial radio took a record total of £713.3 million in ad revenue in 2018, breaking the previous 2017 record of £679.2 million and marking a 5.1% increase year-on-year. What's more, commercial radio also posted audiences of 35.6 million listeners (up from 35.5 year on year), as well as its highest share of listening since 2001 (46.5%) according to Rajar.

Digital listening has reached a new record share of 52.6%, up from 49.9% in Q4 2017, according to RAJAR Q4 2018 data released today. DAB remains the most popular digital platform, accounting for a record share of 38.3% of all radio listening or 72.7% of all digital listening. 65% of the population now own a DAB radio at home compared to 62.3% in the same quarter last year.

DAB+ offers listeners new features and services, and the means to continuously innovate. In this article, WorldDAB president Patrick Hannon touches on some of the advantages of DAB+, and how WorldDAB is helping drive the implementation of DAB+ across different markets and industries.

In this week's DAB+ report, Radio Visie focuses on the digital switch-over date due to be announced in Switzerland in August and Ofcom's plan to expand the number of stations broadcasting in DAB+ in the UK, as well as listing some of the latest in-car DAB+ adaptors to have been released on the market.

According to Czech Radio director Rene Zavoral, DAB+ coverage in the country, which currently stands at 60 percent, will reach 80 percent this year. The expansion will primarily concern the Brno, Central and Northern Moravia and South Bohemia regions.

The 16th edition of the European Radio Show attracted 7451 visitors - the highest number of attendees ever recorded at the show, which included a number of new offerings including a DAB+ pavilion, hackathon and a podcast space.