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Germany

Last update: 29.07.2025 - older versions

Nationwide programme offering

In addition to the Deutschlandradio programmes Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Deutschlandfunk Nova and the digital channel Deutschlandfunk Dokumente und Debatten, numerous other private radio programmes can be heard on the first national DAB+ platform. Private stations such as Radio BOB!, sunshine live, Klassik Radio and Schwarzwaldradio, which can only be received locally or regionally on FM, are available terrestrially throughout Germany via DAB+. The private programmes Absolut Relax, Energy (national), Radio Schlagerparadies and ERF Plus are only available terrestrially on DAB+.

A total of 12 additional transmitters are scheduled to go into operation on the first national programme platform this year. One focus is Schleswig-Holstein, where the switch from FM to DAB+ decided by politicians, public and private programme providers began this year.

By the end of 2025, the DAB+ transmitter network will comprise a total of 182 locations, bringing the number of residents who can receive the 13 programmes at home with a room antenna to around 77.7 million. This corresponds to more than 91 per cent of the population. Area coverage for mobile reception is already at more than 97 per cent and will increase slightly further by the end of 2025, while coverage on motorways is already over 99 per cent, which is almost full coverage.

The second national programme platform operated by Antenne Deutschland offers additional nationwide stations. Well-known offerings such as RTL Radio, Oldie Antenne, Rock Antenne (both from Antenne Bayern), the Absolut Group and special interest formats such as Beats Radio enhance the nationwide offering and make it attractive to listeners throughout Germany. Ballermann Radio, another programme for a specific target group, was launched in 2024.

Digitalradio Büro Deutschland provides an overview of DAB+ in the federal states 2025.

Latest audience data

Listening data is available in this summary from Digitalradio Büro Deutschland: “The ma 2025 audio II: DAB+ programs with strong growth.” “The figures from ma 2025 Audio II show a continued steady increase in digital radio usage, especially in the DAB+ segment. This is particularly beneficial for providers who broadcast their programs primarily or exclusively digitally, recording significant growth.”

FM switch-off in Schleswig-Holstein

2025 has also seen the start of FM switch-off in Schleswig-Holstein. In July 2025, the Medienanstalt Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein (MA HSH) provided an update on the progress of the FM shutdowns. “Now, additional programmes have reduced their FM locations, including both private and public broadcasters: After Klassik Radio decommissioned its FM frequency at the Güby location in Schleswig-Holstein some time ago, FM broadcasting in the Itzehoe region was discontinued on 1 July 2025. In addition to Klassik Radio, Deutschlandradio is also focusing on digital broadcasting.

“Deutschlandfunk and Deutschlandfunk Kultur have discontinued analogue broadcasting at a total of nine locations, with only two locations remaining in operation on a transitional basis. The change is part of a state-wide digitisation campaign agreed upon by private and public radio stations, the state government and the state media authority as part of a road map: by 2031, programme broadcasting via FM antenna is to be completely, but gradually, converted to DAB+ digital radio.”

DAB+ world premiere: the new ASA warning system

After two years of intensive collaboration, the WorldDAB association and Digitalradio Deutschland e.V. are presenting an exemplary innovation for DAB+ digital radio: the Automatic Safety Alert (ASA) warning system, which protects the population in emergencies and crises and reliably transmits safety messages digitally via radio without an internet connection.

Listeners benefit from a system that keeps them informed even when mobile phone or internet connections are down. ASA works automatically in the background, can be adapted to the region where you live, and offers high availability thanks to the DAB+ radio transmission network.

Public and private radio stations in Germany, the device industry and security authorities such as the BBK (Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance) have set themselves the goal of providing a new important component in the warning mix for crisis situations with ASA and DAB+ digital radio. With powerful transmission masts covering large distances, DAB+ offers the possibility of sending regionalised warning messages. This function ensures that people in the affected areas are warned accurately and in good time. New generations of DAB+ radios now support the ASA standard. The website www.dabplus.de/asa has been set up for B2B customers.

DAB+ regulation

According to Germany's Telecoms Law, all new car radios should be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21 December 2020 – as required by the European Electronic Communications Code.

The law also requires all new consumer radios, capable of displaying a station’s name, to be able to receive digital signals (for example, DAB+ or IP) – from the same date. Read the press release on the new German national legislation here

Last update: 04.08.2025 - older versions

Digital radio is available in all metropolitan areas. The total coverage (combined coverage of ARD multiplexes and the national multiplex) is 98% of the population.

The 1st level road coverage of the national network is 12,700 km which is equal to 98%.

Detailed information on the network coverage can be found on the Digitalradio Büro Deutschland website.

Last update: 04.08.2025 - older versions

In this country there are

National multiplexes: 2 Regular
Regional multiplexes: 44 Regular
Local multiplexes: 34 Regular

on air.

An up-to-date overview of the DAB+ digital radio services on air in Germany is available on the Digitalradio Büro Deutschland website.

Please note:

(a) These web pages are updated regularly to reflect current services on air, however they may not be exactly up to date.

(b) The logos shown on these pages are for illustrative purposes only – manufacturers and broadcasters are directed here for information on implementing station logos.

	Simulcast on AM / FM	Exclusive on digital	Total of services
DAB+ programmes	200	100	300

Last update: 04.08.2025 - older versions

Amendment to the Telecommunications Act, Section 48, para. 4 and 5

According to Germany's new national legislation on digital radio, all radios in new cars should be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21 Dec 2020 – as required by the European Electronic Communications Code. The law also requires all new consumer radios, capable of displaying a station’s name, to be able to receive digital signals (for example,DAB+ or IP) – from the same date.

The new German national legislation with explanatory text is available in English here.

Last update: 04.08.2025 - older versions

German Government mandates Digital Interface in most radios

In September 2019, the German federal parliament reiterated its commitment to DAB+ by passing a revision to its Telecoms Law. The law was approved, and made official in November 2019.

The law requires all new consumer radios, capable of displaying a station’s name, to be able to receive digital signals (for example, DAB+ or IP) – from the same date. The new German national legislation with explanatory text is available in English here.

Initiative Digital Radio Deutschland Product Finder

Overview list of the digital radio receivers available on the German market

The 2020 Digitisation Report carried out by Die Medienanstalten during IFA 2020 is available here (in German)

Digital Radio Germany's 2020 DAB+ report is available here (in German)

Last update: 18.07.2022 - older versions

There are currently no news available for this section.

Last update: 01.12.2022 - older versions

What about the radio button in the car?

Are audio systems and voice assistants in car user interfaces within the meaning of the State Media Treaty? This question is the subject of a legal opinion commissioned by the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. On 23 November 2022, the expert opinion by Prof. Dr. Ralf Müller-Terpitz entitled "Rechtliche Einordnung von Audiosystemen und Sprachassistenten mit dem Fokus Auto" (Legal classification of audio systems and voice assistants with a focus on cars) was published and can now be downloaded from the Authority's website.

The conclusion of the expert opinion is that integrated audio systems represent a user interface for linear radio reception in the car. The same applies to the manufacturers' own voice assistants which are responsible for the navigation of the audio system. Thus, car manufacturers fall under the Treaty and must in future comply with the regulations for linear radio reception in the integrated audio system. "The result of the expert opinion is essentially: What looks like a user interface and is operated like a user interface is a user interface. This is good news for radio, for journalism and for users," said Dr. Tobias Schmid, Director of the Landesanstalt für Medien NRW, commenting on the results of the expert opinion.

Read the full press release from Landesanstalt für Medien NRW

DAB+ regulation in Germany

In September 2019, the German federal parliament reiterated its commitment to DAB+ by passing a revision to its Telecoms Law.

The law was approved, and made official in November 2019. According to the revised law, all radios in new cars should be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21st Dec 2020 – as required by the European Electronic Communications Code.

The obligation only applies to new cars, and does not apply to quads, trucks or other vehicles for goods transport. The law also requires all new consumer radios, capable of displaying a station’s name, to be able to receive digital signals (for example, DAB+ or IP) – from the same date.

The new German national legislation with explanatory text is available in English here.

Last update: 20.08.2025 - older versions

The following websites provide information on all available services, the latest marketing and receivers for home and on the move:

Digitalradio Büro Deutschland

DAB+ promotion campaigns

YouTube tip: to see video subtitles in your local language, click on the settings icon located at the bottom right of the video, select settings, then auto translate, then your preferred language option.

2025

2021

Summer 2019

The German digital radio industry (public and commercial radio) organised a DAB+ promotion week from 13-24 May 2019. Cross-media activities included on-air radio spots, consumer and B2B print advertisements and advertorials, social media and on www.dabplus.de. The week included also training and promotion within the retail sector.

Summer 2018

A new German multimedia campaign promoting DAB+ will launch on 27 August, with the slogan "DAB+. Mehr Radio" (DAB+, More Radio) to be branded across TV, radio, print and online. On 30 August, an "Editorial Theme Day" will be held at IFA Berlin by German broadcaster ARD and other commercial radio stations to discuss the benefits of DAB+. The initiative is a collaboration between German broadcaster ARD and other commercial radio stations, as part of a nationwide rebrand of DAB+.

Christmas 2017

Christmas promotion "Give a DAB + Radio" Starting November 27th, in the four weeks leading up to Christmas, radio and TV spots will once again be broadcasting spots and actions about the DAB + listening experience at ARD, Deutschlandradio, private radio stations and other partners.

May 2017

ARD and Deutschlandradio started a cross-media nationwide marketing campaign for DAB+ radio from 2 May 2017. The campaign will include radio, television and internet, as well as images for print and online use. DAB+ has also received an eye-catching new logo, with which broadcasters, manufacturers and retailers can promote the new radio standard.

Examples of the implementation of new DAB+ logo can be viewed here: http://www.digitalradio.de/index.php/de/haendlerbereich. Download the Press Release.

Under the motto "As clear as if I were there", the ARD has a nationwide marketing campaign for DAB+ together with Deutschlandradio and other partners. This includes TV commercials as well as on numerous online channels. In the ARD, with Deutschlandradio and private broadcasters are broadcasting various radio adspots. In addition, there are print and online motifs on the new website www.dabplus.de.

Last update: 04.08.2025 - older versions

The "Automatic Safety Alert (ASA)" warning system protects the population in emergencies and crises with reliable safety messages on the radio. Listeners benefit from a system that informs them even when mobile or internet connections are interrupted. ASA operates automatically in the background, can be regionally adapted to the location, and offers high availability. The new standard has been introduced worldwide; initial tests were conducted at the IFA Berlin and on the nationwide warning day in September. New generations of DAB+ radio devices now support the ASA standard.

Find out more on the Digitalradio Büro Deutschland website and on our Automatic Safety Alert page.

DAB+ Regio in NRW: Milling Broadcast Services applies as platform operator

05.07.2024 - Germany

The application deadline for the regionalised DAB+ multiplexes in North Rhine-Westphalia ended on 27.06.2024. According to Medienanstalt NRW, 53 applications were received from radio broadcasters. In addition, four platform providers have applied. Among them is Milling Broadcast Services, as RADIOSZENE has now exclusively learnt. Christian Milling told Radioszene they had not applied for the whole of NRW. "We restricted ourselves to area 1 (Cologne/Bonn/Aachen)," he said. "Our company is based in the distribution area, more precisely in the Eifel. And we can see in many places that even 13 years after the introduction of DAB+, rural regions are being neglected in terms of coverage. For local radio stations in particular, it is absolutely not expedient to only be receivable in the metropolises. We want to change that. We all know how important reliable terrestrial radio reception is, especially after the flood in the Ahr valley three years ago."

(RADIOSZENE) Read more

DAB+ Regio in NRW - Who are the applicants?

04.07.2024 - Germany

Radio broadcasters are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the list of applicants for regionalised DAB+ multiplexes in North Rhine-Westphalia. Up to 16 million inhabitants could be reached after network expansion. On 2 July, Medienanstalt NRW announced that 53 applications had been received from radio broadcasters and four platform providers had applied. Audio Media Service (AMS) from Bielefeld, Media Broadcast from Cologne and UPLINK Network from Düsseldorf have confirmed their participation in the tender. Media Broadcast and UPLINK applied as platform operators for five regional networks, AMS for Ostwestfalen-Lippe.

(RADIOSZENE) Read more

Star FM receives nationwide licence and launches in 4 more federal states

03.07.2024 - Germany

Star FM Maximum Rock - Germany's successful rock radio network is continuing its expansion course and can now be received via DAB+ in four additional federal states. Star FM Maximum Rock is taking over the previous Femotion Radio programme slots in Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Star FM Maximum Rock, which had previously been successful in Berlin, Brandenburg, Franconia and Saxony, had already expanded its technical reach by 18 million people in April with the launch via DAB+ in North Rhine-Westphalia. Star FM Maximum Rock is operated by Rockworld Digital GmbH, a joint venture between Star FM GmbH & Co. KG and Femotion GmbH, a subsidiary of Teutocast GmbH.

(RADIOSZENE) Read more

ART test programmes come to an end

03.07.2024 - Bayerische Landeszentrale fur neue Medien (BLM) WorldDAB Member - Germany

The Bavarian digital radio project ART (Announcement Radio Toolbox) has concluded its test broadcasts. Over the past 14 months, under the leadership of Bayerische Medien Technik (bmt) and together with the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media (BLM), Mediaschool Bayern, Bayerische Lokal-Radioprogramme (BLR) and Bayern Digital Radio (BDR), the linking of different DAB radio programmes using DAB announcements has been tested. The project was funded by the Bavarian State Chancellery. The project says: "We would like to thank all listeners for their dedicated participation in the project evaluation and for all the great feedback on the programmes with their different musical colours, which were previously rarely represented on the radio."

(Project ART) Read more

ANTENNE BAYERN expands management: Guy Fränkel joins Felix Kovac's side

02.07.2024 - Germany

The management of the ANTENNE BAYERN GROUP, one of the leading radio and audio companies in Germany, was expanded today. Guy Fränkel, already a successful Managing Director of ROCK ANTENNE, will join Felix Kovac as an additional Managing Director with responsibility for the strategic direction and further development of the station group. Michael Tenbusch, Chairman of the Shareholders' Meeting, emphasises the strategic importance of this personnel decision: "In Guy Fränkel, we are gaining a leader who not only knows the radio landscape inside out, but is also actively shaping the digital transformation of our industry. His appointment is a clear signal that the ANTENNE BAYERN GROUP wants to actively develop the radio and audio world in Bavaria and Germany."

(ANTENNE BAYERN GmbH) Read more

German state sets mid-2031 for FM switchoff

02.07.2024 - Germany

Private and public broadcasters in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein outlined a plan to migrate fully from the FM band. Under the plan, by mid-2031, broadcasters will end their analog FM broadcasts in favor of digital broadcasting via DAB+ and internet streaming. State Minister for Digitization and Media Policy Dirk Schrödter announced the agreement at the “DAB+ im Dialog” event in Berlin at the end of June 2024. “… Radio must face the digital future,” he said. “In Schleswig-Holstein, it is our aim as a pioneering region to shape the path to the digital future, including the migration from FM to DAB+ together with all the players in the state —public and private, large and small broadcasters.”

(Radio World) Read more

2024 expansion programme: First national DAB+ multiplex to be expanded by five transmitter sites

28.06.2024 - Media Broadcast GmbH WorldDAB Member - Germany

Media Broadcast is further expanding the transmitter network of the first national digital radio programme package in 2024. The expansion starts today with the Bad Tölz site in Bavaria. Over the course of the year, a total of five new transmitter sites will be added in four federal states and in Austria near the German border. Listeners can look forward to even better reception of Deutschlandfunk, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and Deutschlandfunk Nova and nine other private programmes in the respective reception areas. By the end of 2024, the transmitter network of the first national DAB+ platform will consist of 170 locations throughout Germany.

(Media Broadcast) Read more

Radio in Schleswig-Holstein goes digital

28.06.2024 - Germany

At the fifth edition of the "DAB+ in Dialogue" networking event at the State Representation in Berlin, one of the main topics was the advanced digitisation of radio broadcasting in Schleswig-Holstein. During his presentation, Dirk Schrödter, Minister for Digitisation and Media Policy, announced to the 80 or so guests from the worlds of business, broadcasting and politics that Schleswig-Holstein will be the first federal state to switch from FM to DAB+ digital radio by mid-2031. "Media play a central role in our society. And that will remain the case in the digital age, but radio must face up to the digital future. In Schleswig-Holstein, as a digital pioneer region, it is our ambition to shape the path to the digital future and thus also the migration from FM to DAB+ together with all stakeholders - with public and private broadcasters, large and small in the state," said Schrödter in his speech.

(State Government of Schleswig-Holstein) Read more

DAB+ in Schleswig-Holstein: Switching from FM to DAB+ digital radio

28.06.2024 - Germany

Radio in Schleswig-Holstein is going digital. Private and public radio stations have reached an agreement with the state government and the state media authority to gradually switch to DAB+ digital radio broadcasting via FM antennas in the northernmost federal state from 2025 to 2031. Radio stations have been working on expanding their DAB+ networks and increasing the variety of programmes for years, after the legal requirements for this have been created. For listeners in Schleswig-Holstein, the switchover means more diversity in radio broadcasting, which can only be achieved with digital programmes. For programme providers and the state government, the focus is always on the listeners who are provided with outstanding radio quality. The demand for linear radio programmes is consistently high.

(Digitalradio Deutschland) Read more

Ballermann Radio now available nationwide on DAB+

25.06.2024 - Germany

Ballermann Radio, Germany's party and pop radio station, is now available nationwide via DAB+. The DAB+ radio station under Germany's most notorious event and party brand Ballermann® will be bringing rousing party sounds and the unmistakable, original Ballermann® feeling to every corner of the country around the clock from 9.00 pm today. "Whether chilling on the couch, dancing in the shower, in the office or on the car journey: the best party and Ballermann songs provide that little bit extra and that pure Ballermann feeling - all year round and all over Germany!" says Klaus Drescher, Managing Director of BMR Media GmbH.

(Ballermann Radio) Read more

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Key Information

Status:	regular
Population:	83.8 million
Population coverage:	98%
Services:	300 DAB+
New cars with DAB/DAB+ as standard:	95%
Total Sales (cumulative):	28,300,000 devices
Penetration by household:	34%
Last update: 20.08.2025