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4Ever49 Radio celebrates its two-year anniversary on Wednesday (18 September). The radio station is doing so with an extensive media campaign. Part of this includes highway banners to be seen at various locations. 4Ever49 entered the Dutch radio market via DAB+ as a new national player in 2022, succeeding Loopreizen Radio. The station can now be received in a large part of the Netherlands. Outside DAB+, 4Ever49 is also via online, on cable via (KPN, Odido, Caiway/Delta) and the App. Jo de Graaf, founder and owner of 4EVER49 Radio, says: ‘The team is extremely proud of what we have achieved in two years. The number of unique streams has more than doubled last year, we have launched an app, we can now be listened to everywhere via the major cable providers and we have greatly expanded our DAB+ reach.’

On Monday, the Programme Council of Polish Radio adopted the programme and financial plans for 2025. The coverage of the DAB+ multiplex will be even wider. A few weeks ago, the process of expanding the coverage of the Polish Radio's DAB+ multiplex (Polish Radio Jedynka, Dwójka, Trójka, Czwórka, Polskie Radio 24, Polskie Radio Chopin, Polskie Radio Dzieciom, Polskie Radio Kierowców, Radio Radio for Ukraine, Radio Poland, regional radio stations and in some provinces their thematic channels) was completed. The plans for 2025 include the item Development of DAB+. After achieving signal coverage of 90 per cent of the country's area in 2024, work on increasing coverage will continue in 2025, announces Polskie Radio.

The WorldDAB session at the IBC2024 confirmed how DAB+ listening is gaining momentum in various countries where digital radio coverage is growing. In her keynote speech, WorldDAB president Jacqueline Bierhorst pictured the latest news and trends in the market and said, “DAB+ is safeguarding radio stations’ digital future.” She mentioned how Swiss public service broadcaster SRG SSR will cease FM broadcasts by year’s end, and private stations will follow at the turn of the new year. In the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, public service and private broadcasters agreed to switch off their FM transmissions by 2031; some stations will start as early as next year. DAB+ listening share in the U.K. recently reached 57%, with a remarkable 6% growth from last year.

WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst spoke at IBC Amsterdam this week to update broadcasters and technology suppliers on latest advances and innovations in DAB+ broadcasting in Europe and around the world. The Netherlands has “50 great DAB radio stations… France has 60% population coverage, penetration in Germany is 70%,” she said. Spain is also revitalising its DAB coverage due to increased commitment from the public broadcaster and also the mandatory inclusion of DAB in European cars. In Africa and the Middle East there is also significant movement taking place with a series of trials. DAB has also improved its alert functionality for emergencies. “Radio will work even when phones and internet go down during emergencies. ..Lives will be saved as a result of this work,” said Bierhorst.

Europe's most important Broadcast trade fair, the IBC Show, closes on Monday, in Amsterdam, and once again it has brought together thousands of professionals from both radio and television. Spain has captured the attention of the industry present in Amsterdam, by presenting the case of the deployment of DAB, which in less than a year, has been implemented, thanks to the company Cellnex, in thirteen Spanish cities, and before the end of 2024, it will continue to grow in other municipalities. Xavier Redón, Cellnex product manager, was in charge of explaining how this process has taken place - and continues to take place.

The Association of Austrian Private Broadcasters welcomed around 300 guests to the ‘Privatsender Heurigen’ 2024. Industry representatives discussed the upcoming National Council elections and future media policy with representatives from top politics. In his welcoming address, Mario Frühauf, VÖP President and Managing Director of kronehit, pointed out that Austria's private broadcasters can look back on a very successful 2024: ‘Private radio stations have achieved a higher market share than ORF radio stations in the advertising target group for the first time, and around 30 new DAB+ radio stations have made the radio market even more diverse since the middle of the year.’

Radio Proglas continues to expand its DAB+ network and will soon launch a new transmitter in Velká Javorina. This transmitter, which will cover a large part of South Moravia, should start broadcasting by the end of September. At the same time, Proglas is working on re-tuning the transmitter on Černá hora, where the radiated power will also be increased, which will significantly improve the quality and range of the signal. In recent weeks, Teleko digital's DAB+ transmitters have already been re-tuned in several locations, including Jihlava - Strážník, Frýdek-Místek - Lysá Hora and Liberec - Proseč. These changes, which include re-tuning to definitive channels and improving radiation parameters, are part of a broader strategy to ensure stable and high-quality digital radio coverage across the Czech Republic.

Trent Wheeler, Chief Product Officer at Gracenote says they are showing Nexus, their next-generation automotive solution including radio station and audio identification. Gracenote is the largest provider of content data in the world.

For IBC 2024 RFmondial is introducing its broadcast DAB modulator / exciter LV5e module, which is designed for enabling transmitter manufacturers to enter the DAB broadcast market or for providing existing manufacturers an alternative source for their production. The LV5e is an OEM fully digital broadcast exciter, which can be easily integrated into existing transmitter designs. Built on a fail-safe, embedded platform, the module features crucial functionalities like: seamless operating on multiple incoming EDI streams, precise SFN timing control, advanced signal processing like crest factor reduction and limiter, as well as adaptive pre-correction.

The Principality of Asturias will enable Radio del Principado de Asturias (RPA) to broadcast on DAB+ digital radio from the first half of 2025. The Director General of Innovation, Research and Digital Transformation, Iván Aitor Lucas, has indicated that the regional administration will start the necessary procedures so that the regional public radio can incorporate this new technology that provides higher signal quality and that in the future will replace FM. Asturias becomes the second autonomous community, along with the Balearic Islands, to opt for DAB+ for the effective digitalisation of the distribution of linear radio content. The director of Innovation has valued this initiative as ‘an important improvement for radio broadcasting and the improvement of news coverage for the public’.