News

There is now a concrete timetable for the end of the analogue broadcasting dinosaur in Switzerland. FM is set to end on New Year's Eve 2026 at the latest. However, SRG will switch off its analogue broadcasting facilities as early as 31 December this year, as Marco Derighetti, Director Operations at SRG/SSR, confirmed in a discussion round with private radio stakeholders [at SwissRadioDay]. Anyone who still uses SRG programmes via FM today will receive notifications at increasingly frequent intervals in the near future that there will soon be nothing to listen to on these frequencies. Private radio stations, on the other hand, will gradually say goodbye to FM at the turn of the year in a so-called fade-out process, which according to Peter Scheuerer, Managing Director of the private radio association VSP, is due to the specific situation of the programmes. ‘Every station has different broadcasting areas.’

The Government has today appointed Charlotte Ingvar-Nilsson, lawyer and former Director-General of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, to lead a one-year inquiry into the safe and accessible distribution of radio and television programmes in a new media landscape. The inquiry will have a particular focus on the needs of public service broadcasters. "In an uncertain world, the availability of information is more important than ever. That is why the Government is now commissioning Charlotte Ingvar-Nilsson to investigate the possibilities for media companies to maintain editorial control and distribute programmes safely and easily accessible in a new media landscape, even in times of turbulence," says Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand. The first part of the assignment is to map the distribution of radio and television, both in terrestrial networks and over the internet.

Antenne Niedersachsen GmbH & Co. KG has received an unlimited, state-wide licence from the Lower Saxony State Media Authority (NLM) to broadcast and distribute its special-interest radio programme ‘Antenne Schlager’. This decision by the Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) marks an important milestone for the programme, which has already been broadcast via DAB+ in Lower Saxony, Hamburg and Bremen since mid-July 2023. ‘The state-wide licence for Antenne Schlager is an important step towards further expanding our brand and strengthening our presence in the digital radio market,’ says Carsten Hoyer, Chairman of the Management Board of Antenne Niedersachsen GmbH & Co. KG. ‘We are already looking forward to making the programme available via additional DAB+ locations and being able to offer our listeners a diverse and high-quality pop music programme.’

ZUN radio, a digital radio station focused on electronic music, will broadcast in the eastern part of the country in the DAB+ multiplex of the operator Teleko digital. Its founder and director Ladislav Antoš confirmed this to the Digital Radio portal. ZUN can already be tuned in on channel 10D from Lysá hora, followed by the Strážník transmitter in Vysočina on Thursday 29 August in the late afternoon. "For us, the strengthening of the D1 motorway coverage is one of the most important events of this year and we are already looking forward to the next one, which will be the expansion of our broadcasting in South Moravia. It is from the east of the country that we have the greatest interest from advertisers so far and it is a great benefit for us that Teleko is the leader in the transition to auctioned final channels," Ladislav Antoš told Digital Radio. In Vysočina, the station will improve its coverage thanks to the Strážník transmitter, which will increase its power from 1 kW to 5 kW after the transition to channel 10D.

Four years after its web debut, Radio Morcote International grows further and lands on DAB+. It can be heard on the Swiss digital airwaves from 1 September on the Digris mux, channel 8A. ‘We have worked hard over the past four years to make Radio Morcote what it is today,’ said station manager Daniela Moroni, ‘a quality radio station born thanks to the commitment and professionalism shown by every single member of the team. In a few months, most of the radio stations in Ticino will switch off FM: what better opportunity to seize than this one?’ she added, enthusiastically announcing the station's new mode of operation.

This season, Nostalgie+, the DAB+ version of Nostalgie in Belgium, promises to leave even more room for its audience with a new programme called ‘Juke-box’ and a brand new immersive event in the world of the Beatles.

I recently presented at the WorldDAB Automotive Event on a subject that I don’t think any station manager or technical manager would ever have considered just five years ago. I started with a familiar opening: the evolution of radio from its first days in vehicles. How easy it was for broadcasters, who just needed to broadcast a single, mono, audio channel on an AM frequency. As technology has evolved, the capabilities of vehicles and broadcast radio have evolved: FM, stereo, RDS. Each step has moved the experience forward, kept up with listener expectations, and demanded more competency and coordination between broadcasters and manufacturers. The arrival of digital radio demands more capability and competency: text information, album art, logos. These are baseline expectations, as fundamental as transmitting (stereo) audio without distortion.

Nicola Bomio has been President of the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations (VSP) since April. In an interview with persoenlich.com, the head of radio at CH Media explains where he wants to set the tone in future and how he sees the relationship with the SRG. When will private radio stations switch off FM? "This is a decision that every company and every member of our association can make for themselves. Around half of the members will reduce their FM capacity at the end of the year. And then there are others who will continue to broadcast on FM until the end of 2026, as permitted by the Federal Council."

In the first of our series of short interviews with WorldDAB members exhibiting at IBC2024, Nilesh Mandalia, VP Sales at DekTec says they will be highlighting their DAB Test tools in Amsterdam. DekTec is well known for providing PC-add on cards and USB devices, complemented with variety of Test & Measurement orientated applications.

Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) is pleased to announce that commercial radio share has reached its highest level since 2014, climbing to an impressive 74.6%. This surge reflects nearly 10% growth over the past three years, underscoring radio’s role in connecting communities and delivering trusted content. Radio’s reach continues to expand beyond traditional settings. Listeners in car growing by 4.8% YOY, with over 10 million people tuning in weekly this way. These listeners spend an average of 5 hours and 26 minutes tuned in, integrating it into their routines. Commercial DAB+ only radio stations are also on the rise, attracting an audience of over 2.6 million. TSL on Commercial DAB+ only stations have increased by 18 minutes to 6 hours and 26 minutes, highlighting the growing popularity of digital radio.