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Digital use of radio continues to increase in all regions, age groups and listening locations in Switzerland. Almost 70% of radio listened to in the car is now via digital channels. This was announced by the Digital Migration working group (DigiMig WG) at Swiss Radio Day on 31 August 2023. Of all radio minutes listened to in Switzerland, 81% are digital. Around half of these (41%) are listened to via DAB+ and the other half (40%) via the internet. In the first half of 2023, 245,600 new DAB+ devices were added in Switzerland, bringing the total stock including vehicles to approximately 6.7 million. 54 percent of all passenger cars in Switzerland are now equipped with DAB+.

In the latest interview with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2023, Caspar Adriani, CTO, metadata.radio, says they'll be showcasing their cloud solution to create metadata for DAB.

In another of our interviews with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2023, Ted Lantz, Vice President, Product Line Management for GatesAir says they will debut the second generation of GatesAir’s MultiD Series of DAB/DAB+ transmission systems at IBC.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is currently the hot topic in the tech world, in society and in companies. Media companies move between rejection and innovation. Antenne Deutschland took a courageous step very early on and launched a fully AI-moderated station and put it online. The success now calls for the next logical step. Absolut Radio is going into terrestrial broadcasting in the Braunschweig area via DAB+. "The somewhat unexpected great success of Absolut Radio AI has virtually forced us to take this step," says Mirko Drenger, CEO of Antenne Deutschland. "AI presenter kAI has generated an enormous number of fans in just a few weeks. The streaming numbers are increasing daily. Braunschweig is a start. The sustainable success of DAB+ in Germany means that there are few free capacities. Of course, we do not rule out national distribution in the future," Drenger continues.

The Belgian German-speaking Community’s Medienrat (Media Council) has given the go-ahead for private radio stations to enter the pilot project for the recently started DAB+ mux 8A operated by public broadcaster Belgischer Rundfunk (BRF). With no initiatives taken in Eastern Belgium, BRF decided to take the lead and set up a DAB+ network. The German-speaking Community — one of the three federal communities of Belgium — lies on the country’s eastern border with Germany.

The Saxons can look forward to a new radio station: on 31 August, Radio Galaxy Saxony will be launched on digital radio/DAB and as an internet stream. The full radio programme geared to the Free State broadcasts the best current hits, important regional information and service tips for all young Saxons and those young at heart around the clock.

A new radio station will be launched in North Rhine-Westphalia via DAB+ on 1 September with the national media brand bigFM. "We are delighted that bigFM with Germany's biggest beats will finally be heard on the radio throughout North Rhine-Westphalia," says bigFM Programme Director Patrick Morgan. "The whole team around the morning show presenters Kristina Fixemer and Rolf Vogel have been waiting for this for a long time."

On 22 August, Ghana became the first nation in west Africa to launch DAB+ digital radio. The trial service makes Ghana the fourth nation on the African continent to deploy DAB+. The National Communications Authority is overseeing the trial, which includes 11 stations in the capital, Accra, and seven in Kumasi, the second-largest city in the country. The trial is expected to run through for six months, at which time NCA will determine the next phase of the deployment. By adopting DAB+, Ghana hopes to increase the number of stations able to operate in the country, as well as for stations to extend their reach beyond their current coverage area.

Australians are listening to 23 minutes more commercial radio year on year, underpinned by a love of breakfast radio, 2.8 million people aged 10-24 listening, and commercial radio’s ability to be with people wherever they are, the latest GfK Radio Survey 5 has revealed. Commercial DAB+ listening is up 5.3% to 2.7 million people from the same period last year. Breakfast DAB+ listening was up 14.2%. “Commercial radio listening remains strong across the board, with over 12.1 million people tuning in. Underlying this strength is the continued powerhouse of breakfast radio,” Ford Ennals, CEO of CRA said.

In the latest of our interviews with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2023, Alexander Zink, Chief Business Development Manager, Digital Radio & Broadcast Applications at Fraunhofer-Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Germany, says they'll be showcasing their DAB ContentServer and SDR-based solutions with a focus on professional markets such as monitoring equipment and the automotive industry.