News

The Czech Republic is currently in the imaginary halfway point of the DAB+ digital broadcasting rollout. This year should be an important milestone for DAB+. Now we are waiting for České Radiokomunikace to expand its nationwide network to 80 percent of the population at the end of March and for Play.cz to put its cards on the table, which, in addition to the Pardubice Region and Vysočina, won the auction of the CTU to cover virtually the entire Czech territory. But what we did not know at the very beginning of 2025, we know now. Several radio stations on the market have decided to fundamentally change their signal distribution, which has so far been based exclusively on analogue broadcasting. The imaginary "holy trinity" consists of Radio Proglas, Radio Prostor and Country Radio.

Country Radio will stop broadcasting on medium wave from Liblice in Central Bohemia at the end of March. This decision is irreversible and the replacement will be an extension of DAB+ coverage. The medium wave transmission will continue on average commercial terms for South Bohemia only. The aim is to ensure a smooth transition of listeners from one platform to another, with DAB+ network coverage reaching 80 per cent of the population. According to the Digital Radio portal, the remaining 14 DAB+ transmitters of Czech Radio will be launched at the end of March. This expansion will significantly increase the coverage of digital radio broadcasting in the Czech Republic. Martin Hroch, director of Radio United, the company that operates the station, confirmed the plan to the editors, stressing the importance of a smooth transition for listeners.

On 19 March, Radio Network Netherlands officially took Allotment 31 into use, including a new antenna configuration and transmitter installation in the Stedendriehoek region (Apeldoorn, Deventer and Zutphen). "Thanks to this expansion, listeners of local public, regional and commercial local broadcasters in Apeldoorn, Deventer, Zutphen and the surrounding region can now enjoy interference-free DAB reception," the network operator said. "In the coming days, we will further optimise the network by commissioning a second transmitter in Deventer."

News in the Editrice Reporter II group (publisher of RTR 99 Ti Ricordi). As of 1 April, the reorganisation of the broadcasting of all digital radio stations begins. Among others, an important comeback ‘on air’ is announced in these hours. Two years later, Radio Pop e Rock will be reborn on DAB+, this time with regional coverage of the whole of Lazio. More details in the coming days.

Local DAB+ allotments in frequency layer 6 are steadily being filled with radio stations that have received broadcasting licences for this purpose. A new channel within the local offer in the The Hague region via channel 5C is radio station 2:TheBeat. This station started DAB+ distribution on 20 March. In early March, the new radio station already started DAB+ broadcasting via the allotment in the Rotterdam region. This was followed by DAB+ distribution within the Zoetermeer/Capelle aan den IJssel allotment. By linking the allotments, 2:TheBeat can now be received in a large part of Zuid-Holland both indoors and outdoors.

In no other German federal state is the expansion of the DAB+ transmitter network as important as in Schleswig-Holstein. Because in the far north of Germany, the FM switch-off begins on 9 April. An additional site was added to the regional private transmitter network in Kiel on 20 March. The Neumünster Armstedt transmitter site is a new addition. It is equipped with a transmission power of 2 kW ERP. The south of the broadcasting area in particular will benefit from this new facility. The new site should be able to be received as far as Kiel, Lübeck and Hamburg.

The Media Council of the Berlin-Brandenburg Media Authority (mabb) has adjusted the DAB+ funding programme and extended the application deadlines. The funding was increased to a maximum of 70 percent of the additional costs for almost statewide programme distribution via channel 10B. Funding will be available for a period of three years. This deadline extension gives local and regional broadcasters more time to apply for funding to distribute their programmes via DAB+. The goal is to strengthen the diversity of the radio landscape in the region and to improve the digital terrestrial reach of private radio broadcasters.

Factum Radioscape is proud to announce its support for the local DAB multiplex serving Ceredigion, operated by MuxCo Wales. The multiplex is powered by Factum Radioscape’s hosted MultiMuxa service, delivering high-quality digital radio to the county. The ensemble features three key BBC service alongside programming from Nation Broadcasting, ensuring a diverse range of content for local listeners. The transmission is based at Llanbadarn Fawr, a strategic site ensuring optimal coverage and signal strength for the area. By using Factum Radioscape’s advanced MultiMuxa platform, the multiplex benefits from a reliable, scalable, and efficient digital broadcasting solution.

Talpa Network has announced the date of Radio Noordzee's return. It was announced Friday evening on ‘Het Holland Huis’ on SBS6 that the station will be available to listen to via internet and DAB+ from Tuesday 1 April. In January, it was announced that Talpa will revive Radio Noordzee Nationaal digitally. ‘If you look at past years, Dutch pop music has really taken off,’ Dave Minneboo, Creative Director Audio at Talpa, said at the time, referring to artists like Suzan & Freek, Yes Berendse and Roxy Dekker, who are doing well in the charts. ‘We want to give this popular homegrown genre a stage,’ he said. Radio Noordzee Nationaal was a commercial station that operated in the Netherlands from 1992 to the late 1990s with predominantly Dutch-language music and Dutch productions.

In the last three years, new WorldDAB member TRedess has delivered more than 500 DAB+ transmitters to more than 15 countries (Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Netherlands, 'small-scale' DAB+ projects in the UK, Slovakia, Denmark, Norway, Australia, etc). Learn more about TRedess' activities in this interview with Luis Grela, Sales Manager at TRedess.