Germany - Emergency Broadcasting - History

05.08.2016

ARD is investigating the possibility of supporting emergency warning announcements (EWS) via DAB+ to improve the provision of safety relevant information to the listener in situations of acute danger such as industrial plant incidents or severe weather warnings, both in the home and in vehicle.

In preparation for the introduction of an EMF (Emergency Warning Functionality) channel for the Free State of Bavaria, DAB+ multiplex operator Bayern Digital Radio GmbH is planning an information channel on DAB+.

The duration of the pilot project is initially limited to the period from September to December 2016. After successful implementation, it will be possible to establish the information channel as a permanent service on Bayern Digital Radio's DAB+ multiplex in Bavaria. Source

26.09.2014

ARD is investigating the possibility of supporting emergency warning announcements (EWS) via DAB+ to improve the provision of safety relevant information to the listener in situations of acute danger such as industrial plant incidents or severe weather warnings, both in the home and in vehicle.

09.01.2014

The public ARD broadcasters are currently investigating the possibility of improving their emergency broadcasts. For the time being traffic announcements are supported by all ARD broadcasters to inform their in-car listeners about traffic jams and to provide road safety information. But this functionality is currently limited to in-car radios only and can be disabled by the listener.

Therefore the ARD is currently investigating the possibility of supporting emergency warning announcements (EWS) to improve the provision of safety relevant information for its whole listenership. Safety relevant information in this case would relate to acute situations of danger for in-car listeners such as fire incidents in the local industrial plant or warnings of severe weather.

Refining the announcement provision will help to emphasise the benefits of digital radio compared with analogue radio.