France - Current situation - History
12.03.2019
In 2014, DAB+ was officially launched for the first time in France, in the cities of Paris, Marseille and Nice. In June 2018, Lille became the fourth metropolitan area in France to have launched regular DAB+ services, and was subsequently followed by launches of DAB+ in Lyon and Strasbourg in December 2018.
On 19 December 2018, the French regulator CSA announced that following the launches of DAB+ in Strasbourg and Lyon, 21.3% of the population of France was now covered by DAB+, therefore triggering the French receiver law requiring all new radio receivers to be equipped with DAB+ capabilities.
As of 19.12.2018, new receivers able to display multimedia content are to integrate DAB+ capabilities within three months [end of March], while all radio receivers have 12 months to include digital capabilities [end of December], aside from in-car receivers which have 18 months to comply with the law [end of June].
In March 2019, the CSA released the list of radio stations that have been granted a national DAB+ licence alongside the six Radio France national radio stations. These are the following:
· Air Zen (SARL Air Zen Radio)
· BFM Business (SAS Business FM) - NextRadio
· BFM Radio (SAS Newco G) – NextRadio (NEW)
· Chérie (SAS Chérie FM) - NRJ
· Europe 1 (SAM Lagardère Active Broadcast)
· Fun Radio (SA SERC) - RTL
· Latina (SAS Latina France)
· M Radio (SARL M Radio DAB)
· Nostalgie (SAS Radio Nostalgie) - NRJ
· NRJ (SAS NRJ) - NRJ
· Radio Classique (SAS Radio Classique)
· RFM (SAS RFM Entreprises) – Lagardère (Europe 1)
· Rire et Chansons (SAS Rire et Chansons) - NRJ
· RMC (SAM Radio Monte-Carlo) - NextRadio
· RTL (SAS RTL France Radio)
· RTL 2 (SA SODERA)
· Skyrock (SA Vortex)
· Virgin Radio (SAS Europe 2 Entreprises) - Lagardère
06.02.2019
In 2014, DAB+ was officially launched for the first time in France, in the cities of Paris, Marseille and Nice. In June 2018, Lille became the fourth metropolitan area in France to have launched regular DAB+ services, and was subsequently followed by launches of DAB+ in Lyon and Strasbourg in December 2018.
On 19 December 2018, the French regulator CSA announced that following the launches of DAB+ in Strasbourg and Lyon, 21.3% of the population of France was now covered by DAB+, therefore triggering the French receiver law requiring all new radio receivers to be equipped with DAB+ capabilities.
As of 19.12.2018, new receivers able to display multimedia content are to integrate DAB+ capabilities within three months [end of March], while all radio receivers have 12 months to include digital capabilities [end of December], aside from in-car receivers which have 18 months to comply with the law [end of May].
23.11.2018
On 21 November 2018 the CSA confirmed that following the call for national DAB+ licences, the four largest private radio station groups have applied for licences - NRJ Group, AlticeFrance (RMC, BFM), M6 and Lagardère Active. This represents a historic shift in the rollout of DAB+ digital radio in France.
The website DABplus.fr was set up to summarise the deployment of DAB+ in France. It is paid by and for stakeholders of DAB+ in France. www.DABplus.fr
The CSA announced in December 2017 a new strategy to accelerate the deployment of DAB+. Following consultation, the CSA decided to revise the modalities and the schedule of calls for candidacy to allocate frequencies of radio diffusion in DAB+. Three major calls for applications are now planned: the first two, in July 2018 and at the latest in July 2019, will each focus on "fifteen zones centered on agglomerations of more than 175,000 inhabitants" and with a small number of local areas. The third call was announched in July 2018 and concerns frequencies at the national level. The less populated areas will be covered in a second phase after 2020.
National Coverage
The French broadcast regulator the Conseil Superieur de l’audiovisuel has launched a call for DAB+ applications at the national level for the first time, with the initial focus on developing services in the metropolitan regions of Brittany and Corsica and its surrounding highways. The tender is aimed at only national radio stations, and requires 90% of the motorway network to be covered within eight years, as well as 80% of Brittany, and 80% of Corsica’s territorial routes and 75% of its metropolitan population. The final date for submissions is 21 November 2018.
Following Paris, Nice and Marseille, Lille started to broadcast DAB+ in 2018, Lyon and Strasbourg to follow, including services from Radio France (FIP and Mouv’) and RFI (Radio France International). Coverage proposals for Rouen, Toulouse and Nantes have been presented by the regulator and applications from the radio editors have been received.
CSA calls to continue a modern DAB+ deployment strategy and easier access to frequencies in France
The Conseil superieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) is recommending to help radio stations deploy new DAB+ services across the territory, and to harmonise the radio frequencies authorisation procedure to enable future DAB+ approvals. These were included in a new document released on Tuesday September 11th 2018 by the regulator calling for an overhaul of audiovisual regulations in France.
Digital radio launched in Paris, Nice and Marseille in 2014. Across the three cities over 100 services are on air - all but one are on DAB+.
Useful documents:
Public consultation prior to the call for Applications NTS No. 3 and impact studies (pdf)