News

Speakers including Patrick Hannon of WorldDAB, Graham Dixon of the EBU, and others from RadioDNS, Sveriges Radio, NAB and Bauer Media will discuss topics ranging from smart speakers and hybrid radio to the changing face of in-car radio and 5G’s impact on the medium. Other invitation-only events include the EBU Strategic Program for Radio, and the WorldDAB Technical Committee.

Bauer Media wants to cut back the AM reach of its Absolute Radio station, which continues to broadcast nationally on the old fashioned medium wave frequency, in addition to its DAB and online channels, and FM outputs in London and the West Midlands.

Digital radio’s share of all radio listening has risen over the years, reaching 49.9% in Q4 2017, up from 45.2% in the year-ago period. DAB sets are responsible for 73% of digital listening, or 377 million hours.

New figures from RAJAR reveal that 49.9% of all radio listening is to digital platforms. Digital platforms mostly means DAB: 36.3% of all radio listening is on DAB. The UK government said, back in 2010, that it would consider switching off FM when total digital listening had reached 50%. Now, much longer than anyone really anticipated, we’re almost there.

Digital radio use in the UK reached 49.9%, a growth of 10% compared to 45.2% in Q4 2016, according to RAJAR Q4 2017 data. The majority of digital radio use comes from DAB over-the-air radio which grew 9.2% in hours to account for 36.3% share of all radio listening and 72.8% of digital listening.

DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) is top of mind for German consumers right now, following a 2010 country-wide initiative to convert all radio and TV signals to digital. The DAB search trend has experienced sustained year-over-year growth at a rate of 41% in Germany since 2010.

Digital radio listening in the autumn of 2017 a share of 61%. That means that 61 digital (DAB+ and internet) from every 100 minutes were listened to on the radio.

Kiwis would get more and better radio services if the country invested in a digital radio network, says Kordia chief executive Scott Bartlett. "Kordia is ready to invest. We are willing to put some money down on the table to bring these services to market if there is a consensus that it is the smart thing to do."

MMI Navigation, the Audi Virtual Cockpit, DAB+ radio, heated sports seats and parking sensors are also standard.

The Czech Telecommunications Authority (ČTU) has updated the radio frequency usage plan for DAB+ in the Czech Republic, to enable the national DAB+ networks to extend from the existing three to seven multiplexes. The remaining six national networks are divided by region. Thus, there can be up to 11 multiplexes in central Bohemia and up to 12 in Prague.